The Vampire and the Alpha's Son

A Beta's Sacrifice

Bate’s POV

“It feels a lot better to be clothed!” I proclaimed loudly with a wide grin.

My jovialty was only a front, however. I had just experienced the worst night of my life. It started with watching my current Alpha disown his own son and I stood dumbfounded at first as my best friend and future Alpha ran off into the night, accepting his father’s rejection without a fight. I had joined our mothers at the doorway just in time to hear he had a mate, and that he had his wolf already. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to be excited. It occurred to me, though, if he already had his wolf, that made him technically the new Alpha, and I was officially his Beta.

I felt a force trying to pull me in the direction David had gone, but I hesitated in the entry room as his parents argued about what had just happened. They discussed David for a few hours, eventually involving my mother and I, being that we were the current and future Betas. The whole time, I was itching to be out the door, before it was too late to find my Alpha. I no longer felt any allegiance to Alpha Derrik, confirming what David had said about him no longer being the true Alpha. But if David never came back, it wouldn’t matter anyway.

Finally, the Luna turned to leave in frustration, after our heated discussion reached a standstill. She went out the door to go find her son, and I followed close on her heels without even a glance back. After leaving the pack territory, we stuffed our clothes in a tree and shifted to our wolves to track his scent. We followed the trail for sometime, until it brought us to the outskirts of the small, sleepy town that was our nearest neighbor. I had visited it a few times, but there wasn’t much there.

We kept our distance from the town, since we were in wolf form and hadn’t planned ahead to bring our clothes with us. We had ventured out without much of a plan. From our distance, we could make out a large house with three floors and lots of windows. David’s scent trailed off in that direction, so we assumed he must be staying there with her, since we caught the faint scent of a vampire as well. It didn’t feel right to barge in on them like this, and they were probably sleeping anyway, so we decided to hang out in the woods nearby and wait until morning.

Not much later, we awoke from our daze to find they were gone, and the cool night’s breeze brought us the faint, yet putrid scent of vampires. We made the quick decision to double back towards the pack in order to mind-link for aid before rushing out to help them. The rest you already know.

My own mother was not among the wolves who were sent in answer to our call, meaning that our grueling and painful argument in the pack house entryway was likely the last time I would ever see her. Though there were often times when we didn’t see eye to eye, I loved my mother dearly. However, she had always taken her service and devotion to her Alpha very seriously, and for my whole life, she had taught me to do the same. In the end, I was sure she would be proud that I had chosen to stay by his side.

Despite these reassurances, it still hurt to be parted like this, not only from my mother, but also from my home and my entire pack. Ever since I can remember, it has always only been my mother and I, but for wolves, all pack members are like a family. We are all tied together by a sacred bond, like how the nerves of the body are all connected. The further away we ventured, the more I could feel that bond breaking. It was a painful separation, but as my ties to the pack fell away, I could feel my connection to David increasing exponentially.

No matter what kind of pain I was feeling, I knew David’s would be worse, so I vowed to wear a brave face for his benefit. It was my duty as Beta to be a sign of strength and reliability. As I stood by the riverside in some stranger’s stolen clothes, I promised myself that I would never let my Alpha see my pain that was caused by the choice to follow him.

We spent that day, Tuesday, the 28th of September, traveling southward, over mountains, fields, forests and rivers. It was a tiresome and arduous journey, but there had been no sign of vampires since our escape, giving us hope that the wolves we left behind had been successful. There would be no way to ever know, of course, but I tried not to dwell on those thoughts. Instead, I continued to try to keep the party light and cheerful, with stupid jokes and trivial conversation.

“So, Liz,” I started, trying to strike up a conversation after a few hours of silence. We had just crested a particularly steep hill, so those of us who actually needed to use our lungs had required a moment to catch our breath. Though wolves might be incredibly strong and far more physically fit than any human, we were still merely finite beings compared to our immortal traveling companion.

“Yes?” she asked amiably, turning to me from where she stood a few steps away.

She and David had just been sharing a very intense stare, and I found myself wishing I could find my own mate soon. I had turned eighteen over a month ago, yet I had not found my mate among the members of our pack. As was my usual modus operandi, I had chosen to pretend not to be bothered by it. I had shrugged it off while muttering some comment about how mates were overrated. Both the Alpha and Beta of our pack were not currently with their destined mates anyway, so I had half believed my own assessment. That is, until I witnessed David disregard his family, his duties, and his whole pack for his mate. Also, if his mate was not within our pack, maybe mine wouldn’t be either.

“What’s it like to be a vampire?” I asked her with a goofy grin.

“What kind of a question is that?” she laughed. Then she fixed me with an ominous grin. “Do you really want to know?”

“Well, I, um,” I stammered, unsure how to reply. I had clearly been joking; my stomach was probably too weak to hear any gruesome tales about vampire life. It was bad enough that I had to fight some of them. David and I had both sustained scratches from the vampires, but thankfully wolves heal quickly.

“I’m joking,” Liz replied with a soft chuckle.

Her face suddenly showed a sadness that I didn’t understand, and David and I exchanged a panicked glance. I decided to change the subject, before I made both of them upset with me for unknown reasons.

“Um, do you want to hear stories about David and I when we were kids?” I offered. There were plenty of embarrassing stories to choose from, much to David’s dismay. However, I knew he wouldn’t stay mad at me if it made his mate happy.

“Oh, yes, please!” she answered with an excited laugh.

David’s fearful face started to turn pink as I delved into a story from when we were eight and got caught streaking through the dining hall during an important gathering. Our punishment had been quite severe, but he had never told a soul that the whole thing had been my idea and I had pretty much forced him to join me.

I had many more such stories, and Liz delighted in them all as we continued traveling south toward Wyoming. At our current pace, we would reach the border by nightfall.