Blood Night Prisoner

Taken

     My parents and the Alpha were standing, facing each other. They were surrounded by the group of snarling animals. I looked past those standing in the middle to the far side and my breathe caught in my throat. Two men, partially shifted with their black eyes and teeth shining in the twilight, were holding Chase!

In front of Chase was Marcus was laying on the ground. Dark, red blood was staining the entire side of his white Henley t-shirt. A scruffy, brown wolf was standing at Marcus's feet with his teeth bared as another large, grey wolf hovered over his throat. I could see his chest rising and falling with his labored breaths. Chase stood over Marcus, struggling with his captors, trying to break free.

     "Alpha Christopher and Luna Emily Reynolds! My, my my. It sure it my pleasure to finally meet you." the Alpha sneered. "We've been waiting for THIS day for a long time. I can't tell you how long we have been planning our.......pilgrimage to visit you and your ILLUSTRIOUS pack." He began to laugh on the last word and the rest of his pack, men and wolves, joined him. "My name is Dean Erickson. I'm the leader of this intimate group here that stands around you now." His eyes darkened into slits.

     "What is your business here?" my father stood his ground in front of my mother, trying to protect her with his body. He was a tall, muscular man being an Alpha. That was a given. All leaders of their packs were naturally the  biggest, strongest and fastest than any other under their protection. But my father was well known to be one of the best fighters that had ever led the Blood Night clan. It was why we were never challenged or attacked. Until now.

     The Alpha's dark eyes glittered and he raked his dirty fingers through his long, black hair. 

     " You see, Mr. Christopher...... I've been watching you for some time now. Your numbers have grown into the hundreds of thousands now. You control the largest territory in the United States now. You've taken and taken and taken all there is to take here. not even considering there are wolves here that already had clans before you took over." He began to get more worked up as he spoke. "You took our lands, you took some of our people. Hell, you took all the people that are around! All the people here are known to be of the Blood Night Pack." he screamed at my father. My mother whimpered and looked toward Marcus and Chase.

    "Tonight is your reckoning! Tonight, we are taking back what's ours. Starting with your pack!"

    "You'll never take my pack!" my father snarled.

    "It's your pack........or your sons. Take it or leave it".

     My mother was grasping onto my father's arm. I've never seen the wild, desperate look of fear on her face before. "Christopher.......Marcus..!" Marcus's breath was shallow now and slowing down. 

     Seconds ticked by.....

     My father's shoulders drooped. He immediately knew what he had to do. The only thing to do to save Marcus and Chase. 

    "I, Alpha Christopher Reynolds, bestow upon you, Dean Strickland the Blood Night Pack."  I could see the anguish in his face as the power shifted from him to Alpha Dean. "Please, the pack Dr. is about 2 miles South down that road. Please! My son doesn't have much time!" 

     Alpha Dean, in his first act as the powerful Alpha of the Blood Night Pack, turned to my father and suddenly shifted! He lunged at my parents and in the next second, they were lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Gaping holes were where their throats used to be. The new leader shifted back to human and turned to walk away, wiping the blood from his chin.

He walked toward Chase and Marcus now.  "You boys have a choice to make" he called out as he walked toward them. "Swear your allegiance to me and I'll allow you live. You can continue to stay on our land and you will be allowed to continue on as a pack member. OR.....not."

     Chase was shaking and I could see that he was trying to control his wolf. If he shifted now, the entire group would overcome him in seconds and rip he and Marcus to shreds. He looked down at Marcus. Marcus was pale now and he wasn't moving much anymore. If you weren't standing close, you couldn't see the small, shallow breaths his body was still taking. He knew it was the only way to keep Marcus alive. He looked up toward our house. His eyes locked with mine and I knew he was doing it to keep me alive too. He looked back at Alpha Dean.

     "I speak for my brother and myself. I pledge myself, Chase Reynolds and my brother Marcus Reynolds to you, Alpha Dean Erickson and to the Blood Moon Pack." The wolves all began howling in unison in their victory. They started to disperse through the trees from where they came and the Alpha walked over to a pickup truck parked on the side of our house as he told the others to take Marcus to "The Dr. b***h down the road." As Chase was loaded into the back of the truck, he looked back at the house toward the window where I still stood in shock.

     He mouthed one work to me as he ducked his head inside the door. 

     "RUN!"

     The pickup started with a loud rumble and the headlights flickered on as they began to drive away. My body reacted before my mind could comprehend what I was doing and I sprinted to the back door. I ripped open the door and ran for the trees at the back of our property in the opposite direction of where the pack had walked back into. It was the movement  through the field that caught his eye. Alpha Dean's head snapped back to see me disappear into the dark woods.

Present

     I could hear the panting on the ridge just above my head and I can see flickers of movement down, next to me at the bank of the river, keeping up with my pace. They had caught up to me and were surrounding me for their ambush. I wouldn't stop running! I would keep going until the final blow came! A large dark brown wolf leaped down from the ridge above in front of me and brought me to a screeching halt. The group of them formed a circle around me and I knew it was over. Some of them had shifted to their human form and were laughing and jeering. As I stand there in the center of the circle, I felt a blinding intrusion in my mind

     "SHIFT NOW!" the Alpha voice commanded.

     I had never felt another voice other than my dad's and he never used his Alpha to force his will us. But this was something else entirely. My body couldn't stop from obeying and since I was trying to fight it, my bones were cracking painfully back into human form. Thankfully, I still had my long, white tunic top that didn't come off earlier. It was the only thing to cover my nakedness.

     The men around me started to whistle and laugh as they all took in the young, half naked girl cowering in front of them on her knees. My scalp was screaming and bleeding in a couple place from where tree branches had ripped out strands of my hair. Some blood was trickling down from various gashes on my arms and legs. My body burned but my heart was broken. My parents were dead and now, in front of all these men, I would die too. 

     "You f*****g cunt! Did you really think you could outrun us?" Alpha Dean was walking through the circle of men toward me. He stopped above me and I looked up. He closed his fist and punched me full in the face. I crumpled into a heap in the dirt.

      "She's just a pup. She's nothing. Put her in the back of the truck and take her back to the packhouse. Put her down in the cells for now. I'll figure out what to do with her later. I'm sure we can find a use for her for something." he said suggestively. Then rest of the men cheered as they did his bidding.