The Good Wolf's Alpha Mate

Chapter 5

Liam’s POV

I really should be heading in the opposite direction, away from the human city. One: because I was pretty sure that whichever Pack my little Peach belonged to was in the other direction (based on the faint trail her mother had left behind). And two: because I was pretty sure I was wanted for kidnapping at this point.

Still, after only about an hour or so of running away, I had to turn around. It started raining, and I soon realized that no matter how warm a werewolf was, we weren’t waterproof. Once she felt the first drop of cold rain, she started whimpering, and then it turned into a full-blown banshee song again.

I tried finding shelter under a tree, but it wasn’t enough. Not to keep her dry nor to keep her from freezing. With a sigh heavenward, I turned around and walked back to the city. A trip that now would take me hours, because one: I had to sneak down backroads to avoid any police or search parties. And two: because I couldn’t shift to my wolf and just run there.

Well, nothing in life ever promised to be easy, my wolf huffed and once again lent me his strength to move faster than the human eye could track. But I could feel him getting weaker by the minute. Not only had we been sleeping like s**t, but we hadn’t eaten anything for almost two days now. Sure, we’d survived on less every time Winter came around, but this time was different. We’d used up a lot of energy to keep the baby alive so far, and the only thing I’d grabbed for myself had been the two Packages of beef turkey.

Not exactly a meal for a werewolf...

I reached the city limits a couple of hours later. I’d made a couple of stops on the way, feeding, changing, and swaddling my little Peach into my T-shirt. It wasn’t much, but it gave her some protection from the elements. The next time I fed her, I was sitting under a bridge with a bunch of homeless people. Which turned out to be something of an experience, and it amused me and my wolf. They all ‘ooh-ed’ and ‘ahh-ed’ at her. Hell, one of them even offered me a jacket so I'd be protected from the elements. I accepted, because it sucked being wet! And on their recommendation, I headed further downtown to a Goodwill Store that apparently helped people like me.

The bell above the door rang as I stepped into the store. It smelled nice, despite the overwhelming amount of clothes inside. It was light and warm, and as an added bonus: dry!

“Can I help you?” the young woman by the counter asked, smiling brightly at me as she rounded the desk and made a beeline for me. I’d been looking around for baby clothes, hoping I'd be able to procure Peach one or two onesies. Although the homeless folk had told me that the owner sometimes handed out hand-me-downs to the less fortunate, I wasn't expecting too much. Right now, all I cared about was making sure that Peach was alright.

That was all that mattered...

The female looked nice enough. There was no judgment in her eyes, but as she took us in, her eyes shimmered with pity. Especially when she noticed the baby in my arms. This made my wolf stand to attention and bare his teeth at her as a warning. Since the woman at the gas station, he didn't like anyone eyeing our Peach. He was on high alert, and I knew that if I hadn’t been suppressing him, even the human would have been able to feel his aura. Sure, he was no Alpha, but he was pissed enough not to care what his limitations were. If they tried to take Peach away from us again, the prize would be paid in blood!

“Erm---! Yeah…. hi!” I stuttered nervously, gulping down the lump of nerves that seemed to be clogging up my throat. “I-I was told that if I came here, you’d be able to help me?”

Despite my deep voice, the question still came out high-pitched and awkward, making me blush for myself. My wolf scoffed and rolled his eyes, still not liking this female.

“What happened?” she asked with genuine concern in her voice. And whether or not it was by accident or just a sympathetic gesture, she reached out and brushed my arm. She tried to hide it, but the shock of feeling hard muscles under the jacket's fabric showed on her face. She quickly tried to hide it, but she was blushing hard. Hell, almost as hard as I was...

Yeah, with my six-foot-something frame, I was built like a Line-backer. And despite having lived as a Rogue for two years now, I'd somehow managed to maintain my physique. I worked labor-intensive jobs when the season came. And in the Winter, I spent most of my time in my wolf form, hunting or tracking down food. So I was always fit, and while I might not be much to look at in the looks department, my bulging muscles always managed to turn heads no matter where I was; which was just fine and dandy when I wanted to get laid. When I had a wet, naked baby on my arm and was soaked to the bones myself...

Not as sexy!

“My- my house burned down,” was the best I could do to answer her question.

Yeah, I lied!

Don't judge...

It wasn't like I had much of a choice. I didn’t like lying, and if I was being honest, I wasn’t very good at it. But between stealing baby supplies and being accused of kidnapping, I had a feeling that my days as an honest man were numbered.

"Oh, you poor thing,” suddenly sounded behind us. I spun around and came face-to-face with another middle-aged woman. This one looked a little bit older than the one in front of me but had an air of sophistication about her that only old money could buy. But surprisingly, her brown hair was streaked with grey, and there were wrinkles and smile-lines edged into her face.

She looked like a Goddess...!

Without any finesse, the elder woman walked straight up to us and after one quick once-over, her kind brown eyes met mine.

“Where have you been until now?” she asked, and while she tried to hide it, I could see that the smell coming off me bothered her more than her younger assistant.

“The woods,” I answered truthfully, and tried to ignore the pitying looks they gave me. “I don’t have much, but I was hoping you could help me with some clothes for---”

I stopped abruptly, glancing down at the baby in my arms. I had no idea what her name was. Not that her mother had given me one or stated any wishes. Hell, I didn’t even know what her mother’s name was, so I couldn’t call her that. But then again, was it really my place to give her a name? As much as it hurt to admit it, I once again had to remind myself that she wasn’t mine. And I had no right to give her a name.

At least not one that could be legally hers...

“Peach,” I finished, realizing that the little pet name I’d given her at the very beginning had gotten stuck in my head. And now she was stuck with it too.

At least until she found her real family…

We could be her real family too, my wolf glumly remarked, liking the idea of giving her up just as much as I did. Which meant not at all! It twisted my gut knowing that I had to give her over to her father at some point, but---

It’s the right thing to do, I sighed, stroking her little soft cheeks. She instantly leaned into the contact and made a sound of contentment. Her small fingers reached out and grabbed onto me, her whole hand making a fist around my little finger. She was so tiny and frail, I sometimes thought that if I made one wrong move, I’d break her. But she had proven to me time and time again how resilient and strong she was...

“Peach,” I echoed again, unable to stop the smile that tugged at my lips from just watching her. Swaddled in my off-white T-shirt, she looked even more like a small, pink Peach, and I mentally laughed when I realized that she smelled like that too. Hell, her scent was intoxicating; making every protective instinct I had, go off like a drum calling Wolves to War.

And yeah: I would kill to protect her…

“Peach?!” The elder woman repeated it with a stunned expression but quickly masked it with a polite smile. “That’s an unusual name.” She clapped her hands and looked around as if she was expecting someone else to pop up behind me. “Is the Mother joining us too?”

For a second, I wasn’t sure how to answer that. Just thinking about the small, fragile girl in the Woods, whose life had been sniffed out all too soon, had my guts twisting painfully and my wolf mourned the loss of a bond that now could never take form.

And I didn’t even know her name…

Something of that grief must have shown on my face because out of nowhere, the elder woman suddenly engulfed me in a hug, so fierce, that I had to wonder if she somehow was a Supernatural too. But I quickly forgot all my worries as her arms closed around us. She hugged me tightly, and while she was careful not to crush the baby in my arms, it felt like being wrapped up in a warm blanket.

“It’s OK, honey,” she said softly and stroked my back. “It’s all going to be alright...”

And just like that, something inside of me... loosened.

I hadn’t been hugged like this for as long as I could remember. My parents didn’t mistreat me, but they always made it clear that my brother was their favorite. As I grew older, I understood why, but it never felt or seemed fair to me. And for that same reason, I didn’t feel very betrayed by them when they chose to defend my brother over me. When they chose to throw me under the bus once the trial began. Hell, even my own Alpha knew he'd done it, but he too was happy to be rid of me; he didn't care! The only people to ever truly love me were my Grandparents. They’d practically raised me and made me the man I was today.

Someone I was actually proud to be...

They’d been the only people who objected when I was exiled, and pointed to my brother. But nobody else dared to speak against the ass-hole bully, since the cold-hearted narcissist had dirt on everyone in the Pack.

I hadn’t stood a chance…

I’d been taken directly from the Packhouse, to the Border. Hell, they’d even ripped off my clothes, making sure that I left with nothing at all, before the Alpha had severed the Pack Link. It hurt like Hell, as all werewolf links manifested as a meta-physical bond between Pack-members. In pain and alone, I’d been thrown out of the only home I’d ever had. Torn away from the only people who had ever loved me.

I hadn’t even been able to say goodbye…

Just like I hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye to Peach’s Mom. Despite our short time together, we’d still managed to form a bond, and it hurt like Hell when it broke. For a second it seemed like everything in my life was destined to be taken from me…

Yet---

Here was this total stranger, hugging me. Despite that I smelled like s**t, despite not knowing me, despite---

I carefully put my free arm around her too, allowing myself to enjoy this. I didn’t even realize that tears were misting my eyes. Nor that some of them were slowly trickling down my cheek. I only realized this when I tried to breathe through an ever-tightening throat and it came out as a sob.

“Sorry,” I quickly amended, hoping to pull myself together. Hell, the woman was half my size, and with a single hug, she’d managed to bring me to my knees.

Embarrassing…

I tried to clear my throat, but the lump there wasn’t budging. My voice was suddenly gruff as sandpaper, and when I tried to dry away the tears, I bumped the carton of baby formula that I was still holding, in my eye.

“s**t,” I hissed--- and then remembered the baby in my arms. “I mean--- horse!”

Horse?! My wolf snickered, happy to be distracted from memories of our parent's betrayal and life in a Pack. We didn’t talk about it, but I knew we both missed having a home and a safe place to sleep. Of having simple luxuries like a bathroom and a hot shower…

“It’s quite alright, Hun,” the elder lady assured me with a smile that could have won her Miss Universe. “Come with me,” she continued and tugged me along to the back of the store. “What’s your name?”

“Liam. Liam Bradford,” I replied after a moment's hesitation, surprised that I even remembered my name after all this time. I hadn’t used it for so long, and a part of me had wondered if I would ever use it again. When you were a Rogue, almost everyone you met, either didn’t care about your name or tried to kill you.

Names weren’t needed for that…

“Well, Liam,” the lady continued, patting my arm in a motherly manner. “I’m Sheryl. You can wash up here and rest. We’ll take care of Peach in the meantime, so you don’t have to worry about a thing. And don’t worry about her clothes; it will all be taken care of.”

My experience earlier this morning made me reluctant to give up Peach to a stranger again. But I didn’t sense any dishonesty or malice coming from this woman. She was kind, and while she didn’t look like your average Saving Angel, she felt like one to me. When she handed me a cup of steaming-hot coffee and ordered her assistant to go to the nearest store to buy me and Peach some necessities, my heart melted just a little bit more.

Yeah, my wolf mumbled hoarsely, also choking back tears. Faith in humanity has been restored...