These Broken Wings

old scars

RickyJo ran as fast as she could. Her legs were pumping in time with her arms and her long hair was flying out wildly behind her at first. Then her clothes ripped from her body as she shifted into a giant white wolf. She wasn’t sure how far she ran. Only that she ran far enough and fast enough that Dixon Blane was no longer behind her. She heard him howl when he shifted. But even a legendary Alpha like him was no match for her and Jade. She sobbed as Jade ran, both of their emotions mixing together in a strange swirling sea of fear and regret.

Jade finally stopped when they reached the narrow river that marked the boundary of the Blood Moon territory. RickyJo was tempted to keep going. Running forever and never coming back here was an appealing thought. Jade leaned down to drink from the clear flowing water. Once she quenched her thirst, the large white wolf collapsed in exhaustion, transforming back into her human counterpart. RickyJo looked down at herself. She was filthy and covered in sweat. Her feet and hands were crusted in dirt. Her hair was tangled. And since she burst out of her clothes when she made a run for it, she was also totally naked. Well, she thought, I guess I really f****d things up this time.

I’m sure if we went back and apologized, mate would understand. He seemed nice.

“He did not seem nice,” RickyJo argued. She winced when Jade whined loudly in her head.

Please can’t we just go back and talk to our mate? The moon goddess picked him special just for us. Don’t you want to at least meet him?

“I don’t know,” RickyJo said. “What if he tries to make us do something we don’t want to do? What if he takes us back to his pack and keeps us there?”

Of course he‘ll want to take us back to his pack. You’re his Luna. He needs us.

“I don’t want to be anyone’s Luna. I’m a warrior, not a princess.” RickyJo scrubbed her face with her hands. “Maybe he’ll think I’m a total nutcase and reject us,” she thought hopefully. Jade cried and whined at even the thought of being rejected.

RickyJo sat quietly for a while after that, both her and Jade lost in their own worries. She hugged her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. She tried not to cry. Then cried a little. Then cried some more. Finally, RickyJo rose to her feet and started walking back the way she came. Whatever she decided to do about her mate, she couldn’t just sit naked by the river all night.

She was too afraid to go back to the pack house. He might be there. So she headed for her cabin on the far side of the territory. RickyJo pushed the door open, grabbing a throw blanket from the back of the beat up old couch and wrapping it around her body like a towel, tucking it in under her armpits. She headed straight for the kitchen area next. Grabbing a bottle of orange juice, she twisted the cap off and tipped the bottle up, chugging down nearly the entire contents in a few large gulps.

When she tossed the empty juice bottle in the sink, RickyJo noticed the smell of orange had intensified instead of lessening once the juice was gone. She sucked in a hard breath, her body already going rigid with fear. She turned, her eyes widening when she saw that her mate was sitting at the small dining table in her cabin.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, “...this place is full of your scent. I just wanted to sit here for a while. The smell calms my wolf down. I didn’t know you were going to come in.”

Not only did Dixon not know his mate was about to walk in. He certainly had no idea she was going to walk in completely naked. The sight of that wasn’t something he would soon forget. She was absolutely perfect in every way. Her body was more muscular and athletic than most female wolves, but not without some feminine curves to it. Her hips were full and her breasts looked almost too big for her frame, ending in soft pink upturned n*****s. Both her upper arms were covered in colorful tattoos. And there was a large iguana tattooed on her left thigh. It was surrounded by colorful flowers that wrapped around her hip and turned into butterflies that were scattered across her lower back. But it was the scars on her back that really caught his attention. They were small and round and there were dozens of them. Some were old and nearly faded away, while others were still darker. Wolves healed quickly. A small burn like that wouldn’t leave a scar. Which meant the marks must have been put there before she gained her wolf. When she was just a child. Shadow growled inside him, eager to tear apart anyone that dared lay a hand on their precious mate.

Despite the fact that he had made no threatening move towards her, and had explained his presence in a calm way, Dixon would tell his mate was terrified of him. Her eyes were wide and her chest was heaving. He could smell her fear mixed in with the delicious piney scent of her. She smelled like the woods after a rain. Like the ocean breeze. And somehow also like fresh baked blueberry muffins, which didn’t seem like it ought to go with the other smells but somehow mixed in perfectly. She was perfect. Except for the fact that she was completely terrified of him. He was going to have to work on that.

“I’ll go if that’s what you want,” he offered. “I know I’m probably not what you had in mind for your mate,” he added, holding up the stump where his hand should be and turning his face so the long jagged scar that ran the length of it was more visible. His mate didn’t respond except to back further away from him. Her legs slammed into the couch and she sort of half fell half sat down onto it with a hard thump. She gathered her feet up quickly, moving into more of a crouched position. Then she grabbed a pillow and clutched it to her chest. Her green eyes were wide as saucers and she was staring at him like he was the boogeyman. But at least she didn’t take off running again. Not yet anyway. He decided to take that as a win.

“If you want to reject me,” he said, the words nearly killing him, “I’ll accept it and go. I’ll never bother you again. But I hope maybe I can at least introduce myself first.” He saw her eyes cloud over as she talked to her wolf. Then they turned a brilliant glowing green. Her voice was low and throaty. The voice of her wolf. And it must be a powerful wolf to be able to take over when she was in human form.

Yes. We want to meet our mate.

Dixon gave his wolf Shadow a stern warning to control himself. Then he rose from his chair and took a step towards his frightened mate. He moved very slowly, watching her to make sure she wasn’t going to back up before he took another step forward. Her eyes were still glowing, which meant her wolf was in control. And that seemed to be for the best, since her wolf didn’t seem to be quite as frightened of him. He didn’t want to push his luck too far, so he left some room between them when he sat down on the couch.

“What’s your name?,” he asked.

Jade.

“And her name is Erika King?,” he confirmed, smiling when she let out a soft wolfy bark of a laugh.

No one calls her that. They call her RickyJo. Or Alpha Ricky. And sometimes her grandfather calls her getbackhere.

Dixon smiled, chuckling a little at what Jade said her grandfather called her. He had a feeling he might end up taking up that nickname for the woman himself, the way she ran. He stuck his hand out, offering it for her to shake.

“My name’s Dixon Blane. My wolf is Shadow.”

Her hand shook when she lifted it, reaching for his. Just as they were about to make contact, the glow in her eyes disappeared. Jade was gone. And RickyJo was back. She jerked her hand back, gasping in a ragged breath and scrambling backwards over the back of the couch. She fell hard on the floor, dropping the blanket she had wrapped around her. She looked up at him and shifted. He already thought the woman was beautiful, but her wolf was a sight to behold. Jade was quite easily the largest wolf he had ever seen. Maybe even as big as Shadow. Her fur was white and silky soft, each of her legs ending in black feet. It gave the appearance that her wolf was wearing socks on its paws. Her eyes were a bright glowing green.

Jade let out a low warning growl as she backed herself up into the corner of the room. Her hackles were up and her ears were slicked back against her head. Her tail was tucked between her legs and she was baring her teeth at him. He stood up, skirting around the couch and approaching her. She let out another loud growl. He tried not to smile. He had quite the feisty little mate, growling at an alpha like that. Most wolves wouldn’t dare even if they had the urge.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, keeping his voice low and calm. He lowered himself to his knees, trying to seem like less of a threat. “I understand how you feel,” he explained, “I’ve been hurt before too.” He lifted his hand, slowly threading the buttons on his shirt through their holes one at a time until his shirt was hanging open to reveal his muscular chest. Then he shrugged the garment off and turned around, giving Jade and RickyJo a view of the marred flesh on his back. He had been beaten and whipped within an inch of his life. More than once. He heard her suck in her breath. And when he turned, Jade had shifted back into her human form. Dixon held out his shirt for her to take. RickyJo regarded it with great suspicion, but eventually her arm snaked out and she grabbed the garment. She pulled it on, threading her arms through the sleeves and pulling the material tight around her. He saw her tuck her face into the fabric and breathe in hard a few times. Even if she didn’t realize it, Dixon knew having his scent surround her would help calm her down.

“I think I should go and give you some time. But before I go I need to know… Do you want to reject me?,” he asked. RickyJo stared at him with her big green eyes. Then she took another long hard smell of his shirt and shook her head vigorously. “Will you have breakfast with me?”

“I have training in the morning,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. It was the first time she spoke to him in her own voice and he didn’t realize how badly he wanted to hear it. It was soft and sweet. More girly than he expected from such a tough woman.

“Lunch?,” he asked, trying his hardest not to break down and full on begging to see her again.

“Okay,” she whispered.

Dixon reached out his hand. She agreed to see him again. He knew he ought to just take the win and run. But he couldn’t stop himself from trying one last time to get just the tiniest bit of physical contact from her. Her eyes clouded over for a moment. And then she reached her shaking hand out, placing it in his. He felt what he was waiting to feel, the tingles of their mate bond. They shot up his arm, filling his entire body with warmth. While he knew what to expect, having had a mate once before, he could tell the feeling was unexpected for his beautiful mate. She gasped, her eyes suddenly going dark with desire for him. He ran his thumb back and forth across her knuckles. Then he lifted her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it, trying to pretend he couldn’t smell her arousal. He slipped his hand away from hers, knowing he needed to get the hell away from her before he did something stupid and reckless. Or before Shadow emerged and did some sort of i***t horny wolf bullshit.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispered. It took every bit of willpower inside him to force his body to move up and away from her. And out the door. And he kept going all the way to the packhouse, the smell of his mate filling him with joy and hope for the future.