Two Alphas, One Luna

Blizzards & Bleeding Hearts

WARNING: VIOLENCE, SELF HARM AND ADULT LANGUAGE

Mercer

A snowstorm was brewing. The weather reports claimed that it would be the worst one we’ve seen in the last ten years. Here in the Naulo Archipelago it would be foolish to travel. The seas during a winter storm would be treacherous. Though the waters weren’t frozen solid, they were full of slush and ice chips. I imagine the temperatures were deep in the negatives. If any of the wolf clans from Dawnshire dared to traverse these waters, it would be a suicide mission.

I sat in a hot steaming bath full of Chamomile buds, all of the stress and anxiety melting away. Yesterday had been long and last night felt even longer. It brought me no pleasure to hunt Priya down that way, but she left me no choice. None of them did. What was I supposed to do? Let some b***h ass beta claim my Luna? Not a chance in hell.

“It was supposed to be me!”

I slammed my fist on the edge of the granite tub. I felt it slightly crack under my hand.

“God. Damn it.” I sighed.

A series of soft knocks on the door made me look up from the bathtub.

“What is it?” I called out.

“I’m sorry to interrupt Alpha, but you told me to let you know when Priya woke up.”

I recognized the delicate voice as Olivia. She was one of my closest pack members and the only one I tasked with caring for Priya.

“Thank you. I’ll be down to see her shortly.”

I listened to her walk down the hallway before I got out of the tub. I grabbed a large towel from the bathroom linen closet and dried off thoroughly. My dark orange robe hung on the back of the door so I chose to put that on for now. As I descended the spiral staircase, I saw some of the pack standing around talking. Then, I heard Priya’s ranting and raving. Looks like it was going to be another long day.

“Let me go! Get your hands off of me!! I’ll f*****g kill you!” She screamed.

I cleared the kitchen area and entered the den to see her being restrained by two of my pack members. I sighed, shaking my head. I noticed Olivia standing off to the side near the entryway. She was holding a bloody towel on her shoulder.

“Are you alright? Is it bad?” I asked her. She shook her head no, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Priya was wearing a borrowed set of pajamas. I wasn’t so cruel that I’d leave her nude. However, her clothes were soiled with some of Olivia’s blood. The small kitchen knife lay on the ground a few feet away from her now. Her dark red eyes were full of rage as she looked up at me.

“Let her go.” I commanded. The men restraining her looked at me confused.

“But Alpha, she hurt Olivia.”

“I can see that, Tony. Let her go, I’ll handle it. Go help Olivia.” I said sternly.

This time they listened and released Priya’s arms. Tony picked up the knife from the floor, sparing her a glare as he went on his way.

“All of you give us some privacy.”

The remaining pack members exited the den, leaving us alone.

“That wasn’t very nice.” I said. Priya continued to glare at me.

“What did you do to me? Why can’t I shift?!” She nearly shouted.

“Wolfsbane injections. Did you think I’d let you harm my people? Don’t worry, if you behave I’ll stop the injections.”

I stepped closer to her, cautiously. She suddenly raised her fist and attempted to strike me. I swiftly grabbed her by the wrist. She tried getting free but I gave her wrist a firmer squeeze, causing her to groan.

“You’re hurting me!” She yelled.

“Well it’s only fair, you did just try to punch me in the face.”

I released her wrist, almost flinging her away from me.

“You wanna go? Go right ahead. The door is just through there.” I said pointing. She looked at me deeply suspicious at first, but she took me up on my offer anyway.

I followed her to the wooden double doors that lead out to the front of the estate. I placed my hands into my robe pockets and leaned against the stair railing. Priya unlocked the deadbolts and opened the doors. Strong gusts of icy winds and snow blew in against us. It had to be well below zero outside. The blizzard, had come to the isle. She slammed the doors shut again before dropping to her knees in defeat. It pained me to see her like this.

I walked over to her, crouching down just a few feet away. She turned around and sat with her back against the doors. Tears were streaming down her face.

“You knew what it was like out there, didn’t you?” She asked.

“Of course. You wouldn’t have believed me if I tried to warn you. We’re going to be snowed in for a couple of days at least. Why don’t you try to relax instead of trying to filet my pack members?”

She rolled her eyes before looking away from me.

“Have you at least eaten?” I asked her.

“Why? So someone here can poison me?” She hissed. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do you really think I brought you here just to let someone harm you? No one here would dare. Even though you haven’t been very cooperative, you should take comfort in knowing that you are the most protected person here aside from myself.”

She looked back to me then.

“If all of my people are dead, I swear on their blood and mine that I’ll kill you. That’s a promise, Mercer.” She spoke those words like a curse. Maybe she was cursing me. After the things I’d done, I couldn’t blame her.

“They aren’t all dead, but most of them are definitely wounded. Considering your father’s betrayal, you’re lucky you aren’t the only Red Eye wolf left.” I said before standing up.

“You’re a monster! A demon!” She screamed at me.

“Me? Not your father? Do you know that the boy they found dead at your father’s house was his son? MY nephew?!”

I was trying to spare her little feelings but I was growing impatient. She was obviously still holding onto the rosy image she still had of Warrick. Fine, guess I had to be the one to light it on fire.

“The bastard he sired was…That boy?” She asked hesitantly.

“Yes, exactly the same. Warrick killed him to try and get rid of any validity to his promise he made me. That’s why I killed him. My sister was devastated when she found out. She begged me to avenge him. You may not like it but it’s the truth, Priya.”

She say there so quiet, so still. Tears started sliding down her cheeks but she didn’t speak. I think this time, her reality was setting in. She started to get up, using the doors as support. When she was fully on her feet again, she walked past me.

“Priya, try not to hurt anyone else. That’s all I’m asking of you, for now anyway.” I said it as kindly as I could, but she continued walking into the den.

I followed her to see where she would go, but she was just standing in front of the windows. They were floor to ceiling windows and had an amazing view of the sea. At the moment, the only thing to be seen was swirling snow and gray skies. I started to go to her, stand beside her, but I stopped myself. She needed time to process things. Maybe with time, she would forgive my transgressions. To ask for her love would be insulting at this point, I understood that. Even so, I still longed for her. I always have.

When we were young pups and our packs would hunt together at times, I’d always look out for her. It didn’t matter if Gracian was beside her. At the same time, whenever I attempted to get close to her, Warrick would order my parents to keep me away. What was it about me he disliked so much? My pack was like royalty in the community. Why was I never good enough in his eyes? I guess he knew I’d be his end. That sixth sense of ours is never wrong. That disturbing gut feeling you get when you’re around someone that means you harm. I strongly believe Priya would’ve bonded with me over Gracian, if we were given the chance. I was…Different back then. Would she be able to love the man I’ve become? I was almost afraid to know the answer.

Two days passed before the blizzard died down. We had a few manual snow plows but, it was still necessary to use shovels and rock salt. I loved winter, just not the manual labor that comes with it. Priya’s aggressive behavior had lessened. I was grateful for that much. My pack members had expressed concerns about her mental state, worried that her isolation may inspire self harm. Unfortunately, their concerns had been warranted.

“Alpha! Alpha hurry! She’s gone and done something stupid!”

I heard Eric shouting outside of my bedroom door. I scrambled to get out from under my blankets. I quickly put on a pair of burgundy sweatpants that had been at the foot of my bed. Dashing out of the room and towards the sounds of panicked murmuring, I found a gruesome sight in the guest room. Priya was laid out on the floor, bleeding from both wrists and what looked like her achilles tendons.

“You little fool!” I shouted at her as I ran to her side.

I quickly bit into the side of my palm and lifted her head up from the floor with my other hand. She wasn’t healing fast enough to stop bleeding out. It was clear that she’d cut too deep, more than once even. I shoved my bleeding hand against her mouth and forced her to take my blood. The blood of an Alpha would speed up her healing and would guarantee minimal scarring. If any. She was starting to regain consciousness and that glow returned to her brown skin. When she realized what I was doing, she tried to reach up and snatch my hand away.

“Hold her down!” I commanded.

Eric came and knelt on the opposite side of me and pinned her arms down. I could hear her swallowing even though she was trying to shake her head free. Once I saw that her wounds had began to close, I took my hand from her mouth and released her. Eric let go of her arms and stood up, stepping back. I heard other pack members gathering outside the hall trying to see what all of the commotion was.

“Just let me die! Please just, let me go Mercer.” Priya cried, curling up into the fetal position.

“Not a chance in hell. Why go this far when you know nothing will come of it?! The result will be the same! I’ll save you from yourself no matter the cost Priya.” I scolded her.

“What should we do? We can’t leave her alone anymore if she’s going to keep this up.” Eric said.

“I agree. We’ll have to take shifts monitoring her day and night. If she tries this s**t again, keep her hands bound.”

My head hurt thinking about what could’ve happened. The thought of losing her like that. I had to admit that I was impressed with her resolve. I didn’t think she had the stomach for such gore. I scooped her up in my arms then, standing up. I turned to face the others.

“Clear out. Unless one of you plans on helping clean up all of this blood, go on about your business.” I said walking out of the room.

Everyone cleared a path to let me through. Priya wasn’t trying to break free from me now. She continued sobbing as I entered my room. I used my foot to kick the door closed before heading to the master bathroom. I sat her down on the cushioned ottoman near the sink/vanity. I started to run a warm bath for her, even adding some bubble solution. I wanted her to see that in spite of the s**t she just pulled, I was going to take care of her. I sat on the edge of the tub while it filled. Priya was staring at me with puffy pink eyes, hugging herself.

“Now, this is what’s going to happen. You’re going to take a bath, take a nap, and when you wake up you’re going to eat something. I don’t care if I have to put you in there kicking and screaming, you need to wash that blood off.” I said sternly. I waited for a reaction, any resistance at all. Surprisingly, she didn’t say or do anything. Not even an insult. A win is a win.

I turned off the water once the tub was a little over half full. The bubbles were high, almost touching the rim. I stood up from the edge of the tub and stepped aside. She stood up, slowly walking to the tub. Tears were still streaming down her face, but she began to undress. I turned my back to her trying to give her some privacy at least. Once I heard her settle into the tub, I turned around. The bubbles mostly covered her up but she was still a beautiful sight to behold. I went to the linen cabinet and grabbed a wash cloth and a large towel for her to dry off with. After setting the large towel on the edge of the tub, I pulled the ottoman from the vanity over to the tub. I sat behind her before dipping the washcloth into the water beside her arm.

Very gently I began gliding the warm wet cloth along her shoulders, back and forth. I was relieved that she allowed me this much contact. This moment had only existed in my fantasies, which often ended in more than gentle bathing. Fighting the urge to kiss the side of her neck wasn’t an easy feat.

“I underestimated you, little red wolf. You’re really keeping us on our toes.” I said, squeezing water onto her shoulders.

“You don’t need to do that.” She spoke softly, almost whispering.

“I know, but you don’t seem to mind it. Maybe I wanted to show you a side of me that others never get to see.”

“Is it real though?” She scoffed. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Had you given me the chance to show you before, I think things would be very different between you and I.”

“Highly unlikely. Even less likely now.” She lowered herself into the water more, only her head above the bubbles now. I dropped the wash cloth into the bath water.

“For the first time since you’ve been here, you let me close enough to touch you. I’d say that’s progress.” I stood up from the ottoman and walked over to the bathroom sink.

Because of the stunt she pulled, I had yet to brush my teeth. I picked up my toothbrush from it’s holder and coated it with a thick squeeze of toothpaste. As I brushed, I watched Priya in the reflection of the mirror. I didn’t trust her not to try and drown herself or something. She took notice of my gaze and frowned.

“Do you have to watch me?” She asked annoyed.

I spit out the paste foam to speak.

“Yes, every second of the day. You’re officially being monitored.” I continued brushing my teeth.

After another minute or so, I rinsed and patted my mouth dry with a clean washcloth. I turned to face her, but leaned against the sink.

“Why do you want me to be your Luna so badly, Mercer? Other than the fact that you think I can birth a red army for you?” She said in a snarky tone.

“Is that really what you think of me? You think this is some power play?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Isn’t it?”

“That’s a small part of the big picture, Priya. I’ve wanted you for a long time now. I think you used to feel the same way about me once.” I searched her eyes looking for any reaction, instead she looked away from me. Did my comment unnerve her? No, I think it was the opposite. I slowly started to grin.

“My, my, is that guilt I see? I was right all along then?” I teased.

“That was then, things are different now. You need to stop holding onto the past.” She said firmly.

“Bullshit. I’m not buying it. Feelings don’t just disappear like that. Can they fade? Sure. But something will always linger. Given time, You’ll be singing a different song little red wolf.”

“Your ego must be compensating for something. Something around the waistline I’m sure.” She hissed.

“Cute. Maybe I’ll let you see for yourself sometime.” I grinned wider then.

She rolled her eyes at me but said nothing more. She may not want to see it, but I could. Out here without the watchful eyes of her people, I was sure we would become closer than she ever thought possible. I hoped like hell we would. The full moon was approaching. If I couldn’t win her over this full moon, there was always the next. Priya was strategically stolen from my grasp, I wasn’t going to lose her again.