The Female Alpha

Chapter 2

Athena gently placed Charlotte in the front seat of her Chevy Suburban SUV. She grabbed a blanket from the back, tucking it tightly around her friend. Athena always kept a tote with blankets, towels, water bottles and clothes just in case of emergencies.

At the hospital, Athena parked and said, "stay here, I'll go talk to them then come get you."

"Excuse me, my friend needs to be seen by a female doctor right away," she said to the girl at the emergency room registration desk.

"I need her ID and then she can have a seat and wait her turn like everyone else." The woman didn't even look up as she spoke.

"Listen up, she was just raped, she needs to be seen immediately to get the evidence!"

"I'm sorry, let me let the nurse know."

"Thank you, I'll go get her from the car." Athena grabbed a wheelchair on the way out, she could easily carry Charlotte in but that would raise too many questions. They were pressed for time as it is. Werewolves have fast healing rates, in a few hours her bruises will be gone. Athena could take pictures on her own, but knew her father still wouldn't believe her. She needed concrete medical proof Thomas was a rapist.

She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts, she would have time later to ponder about the situation she was in. She would never accept a mate who raped her best friend.

A nurse came to retrieve Charlotte and Athena had to wait for the exam to be over. She got a spare set of clothes out of the SUV for Charlotte to wear home. Eventually she was allowed into the room with Charlotte.

"How are you holding up?" Athena asked.

"That was embarrassing but they took a lot of pictures and I was raped...." Charlotte trailed off as tears flowed down her face. Athena wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm here and I swear he will pay for this." Artemis spoke through Athena.

"I was saving myself for my mate, I never even kissed anyone! He won't want me now." Charlotte sobbed.

"Nonsense! It's not your fault this happened! The blame is on Thomas and my father." Athena tried to console her, but she knew this would stay with Charlotte the rest of her life.

"Oh, they need a DNA sample to confirm who did it. How will I get that? I don't want to go near him!"

"Leave that to me, don't worry, you won't see him again." The look in Athena's eyes would've scared the toughest warrior. She ran her hand through Charlotte's hair, removing a few twigs in the process.

"How? How can you say that? My dad's probably going to blame me, that I encouraged him or something." Charlotte said sadly.

"You aren't going to tell him. You will stay over at Vicky's tonight and tomorrow. Tell your parents that you're working on a school project together and it's taking longer to finish. If he asks why not go to your house, remind him of how loud your brothers are. By that time, you'll be healed and no one would be able to see something wrong."

"Vicky? Then she'll know!" Charlotte wailed.

"Vicky's perfect because, well," Athena paused, debating on talking to Vicky first, "she knows exactly how you feel. If you know what I mean."

Charlotte's eyes got big when she understood, "he did this to her, too?" Athena only nodded her head, tears running down her cheeks.

"Some Alpha I am, I failed to protect you, my best friend."

"If I'm not allowed to blame myself, neither are you. You aren't the Alpha Athena."

Words couldn't ease the pain Athena felt looking at her friend. She vowed to do whatever necessary to protect the women of her pack. She was already hatching a plan.

Stan?

Athena! Did you find Charlotte?

Yes, sorry it took so long to get back with you, she got held up by Vicky talking about school. Do you mind if she stays with me tonight?

Stan chuckled through the link, not at all, I honestly thought she was anyway.

Ok, thanks!

Dad?

Athena, where are you? You walked out of your party and your mate! I've tried linking you for hours. She could tell he was angry, but how did he know about Thomas already?

I needed a run. She wasn't about to tell him anything before she had the evidence in her hands. I'm staying with Charlotte tonight.

You need to come home and talk to your mate, NOW!

I can't, I'll talk to him tomorrow. She cut the link and put her block back up. It makes her dad angry that she can block him out. As far as she knows, she's the only one who can.

Vicky, it's Athena. I need to come over to your house. Without anyone knowing. She needed to have Vicky at home when she brought Charlotte.

Ok, I'm at your party but I noticed you weren't here. What's up?

I'll tell you when I see you.

Charlotte was released shortly after and Athena took the sample collection bag. The drive back to the pack was silent. The hospital is in neutral territory, mostly human occupied. A few rogue wolves lived there, but those weren't dangerous. They preferred not to live in a pack.

The Crescent Moon Pack had a large area, the pack house where Athena lived was near the center. The Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma families lived in the big pack house. The first floor was common areas, a great room to hang out in, a massive commercial sized kitchen, dining room and other smaller gathering places.

The fourth floor was only for the Alpha family, there was a fingerprint and code necessary to open the door from the outside. The third floor had the Beta and Delta family apartments. Half of the second floor was for the Gamma, the other half was separate offices for each leader, including Luna Michelle.

The rest of the pack had options on where to live. Most families choose to have their own houses. There were several large apartment size buildings clustered in a circle that many unmated wolves lived in.

The housing was provided for by the pack general fund. Most male wolves had jobs, either their own business, working for other wolves or working for humans. The only ones who got a paycheck from the pack were leaders and warriors. Everyone else had to make their own money.

Thanks to the pack being around for over two centuries, they owned a lot of land, patents, stocks and businesses. Alpha Ryan is like a CEO of a large corporation. Along with the responsibilities of running a pack of around six hundred wolves.

Athena pulled up to a modest two-story house a mile away from the pack house. Vicky's parents were normal wolves with no rank. Vicky stepped out of the shadows and motioned for Athena to follow her to the back door. Vicky looked at the bundle in Athena's arms but couldn't see who it was. Vicky was seventeen, same age as Charlotte, with short blonde hair and blue eyes.

"You can stay in my room Athena, I can sleep in the basement." She whispered, with werewolf enhanced hearing Athena knew what she said.

"I'm not staying, do you have somewhere we can talk without being overheard?" She didn't want to risk Vicky's parents knowing either, for Charlotte's peace of mind. Plus she didn't know for sure if Vicky's parents could be trusted to keep this from Alpha Ryan. If he wanted to, he could compel them to confess everything they knew.

"Yeah, there's a safe room downstairs." The trio walked in the small room, there was a bed which Athena put Charlotte on, a table with four chairs and supplies to last a week.

Vicky gasped, "Charlotte, what happened to you?"

Her bruises were almost healed, they were now a yellowish color. She looked down, too embarrassed to speak about what he did to her.

"Thomas Black happened Vic." Athena's eyes turned black, showing Artemis came through.

"Oh my goddess, I'm so sorry!" Tears filled the young girls eyes. She kneeled in front of Charlotte, taking her hands in her own. "I know nothing I say now will make you feel better. What you experienced was horrible and inexcusable. You did nothing wrong." She paused a moment to gather her thoughts, "he did it to me three months ago."

"How did you get over it?"

"I haven't. I wanted to die the first few weeks but Athena wouldn't let me. I don't think we will ever get over it, but we can move on from it."

"He took what belonged to another!" Charlotte yelled.

"I know. I know." The two younger girls sat hugging each other while sobbing. It broke Athena's heart to see the damage done because males did whatever they wanted.

"I'll leave you together. Vic, keep her here a few days. And be sure she gets a bath."

"Of course! She can stay as long as she wants. Where are you going?" Vicky was confused, she thought Athena wanted to stay over. She was glad that Athena wasn't staying, this way her and Charlotte can comfort each other. Vicky knows Athena cares and feels guilty about what happened to them, but she really doesn't understand how it feels.

"I have plans to make. I swear to both of you, he will pay for what he's done." They nodded at her and Athena left, knowing Vicky could help Charlotte emotionally.

Emma? Athena linked another of her friends, also a victim of Thomas. She was older than Athena at twenty years old but hasn't met her mate yet. Emma was the first girl Thomas had raped but Athena didn't know about it until a year ago.

Yes Athena?

I need to crash at your place tonight.

Ok, I'm on my way home now.

Athena wanted to stay with Charlotte, but didn't want to overwhelm her. She also didn't want to go home and risk bumping into Thomas. Artemis was on edge, she felt the mate pull a lot stronger than Athena. She fought against it, her destined mate was a pathetic excuse of a wolf, unworthy of them. It hurt like hell to stay away from him.