Orphaned wolf

Kimi could feel the grass underneath her bare feet. She dug her toes into the ground, allowing herself to remember a time when things had not been as they were. The crisp night air caressed her face, playing with her hair. “Are you ready?” A man's voice pierced her thoughts. Kimi looked to her mate. His eyes were dark and blue, his hair had the same colour as newly fallen snow. Behind him their daughter peeped at her. Kaya had inherited Jester’s hair colour, but her eyes were her mother's. They were like a burning pair of bronze coals. “We have to go.” Jester’s voice was like a knife, sharp and dangerous. But he was right. Kimi changed, her wolf breaking free. Everything became sharper and clearer. She could hear birds in the woods, could smell the rabbits jumping around hundreds of meters away. She kneeled so her daughter, who had not yet experienced her first change, could climb onto her back. Kaya’s small fingers dug into her fur, holding on tightly, as if she knew the importance of these next moments. Beside her, Jester changed into the giant black wolf she had come to love so dearly. The eyes shone brighter than ever when he gave her a nod. They ran through the woods, silence being their only companion. The forest didn’t make a sound, almost like it knew not to give them away, that it had to let them pass, had to let them escape. Kimi felt her body tire, but she kept running, kept fighting, for she was not fighting for herself. She was fighting for her daughter, fighting so that she would never fall into Kojak’s clutches again. Kimi was so focused on the path in front of her that she didn’t hear the rumbling of paws behind them before it was too late. A big brown wolf jumped out from a bush, cutting her off. In a last attempt at freedom, Kimi turned right, ducked underneath a fallen tree. Head for the river. I’ll buy you as much time as I can, Jester’s voice rang in her head. Kimi wanted to protest, but her daughter’s weight on her back reminded her of what was at stake. I will wait for you on the other site. Lies. Lies. Lies. They both knew that it would never happen. Kimi took one last look at her partner, her mate, the love of her life. His big body and those burning blue eyes etched into her memory forever. Then three wolves jumped at him. Their teeth slashed his dark fur. Kimi held in a scream. But Jester pushed the wolves back. His teeth sank deep into one of the wolves, making it howl in pain. Go! His command made her run. She left her mate when he needed her the most, but there was someone who needed her more. Kimi could smell the wet grass and hear the river run. If she could just cross it, they would lose her scent. She would be saved; they would be saved. Did you really think I would let you take her? The voice was like a whip, it cracked in the night, making her body convulse. They were runaways, but he was still their alpha. Hand her over. Kojak went out into the clearing, stopping Kimi in her tracks. His body was massive, and the muscles under the skin vibrated. His fur was silver and shone in the moonlight. His teeth bared. No! Kimi used all her strength. She could feel the alphas hold on her like shackles, pulling her towards him. She would not give in, not this time. No? Kojak began circling her, his eyes never leaving Kaya. Kimi could hear her mate fighting for his life. The screams flowing through the forest. Give her to me. If you don’t, I’ll have to make her an omega. And you don’t want that, do you? Kimi snarled. Her daughter a traitor? Rather that than a slave to Kojak’s sick experiments. No more! She wouldn’t allow it. So, she did the only thing that she knew would save her daughter. Kimi hurled her body against her alpha. The attack came as a shock to Kojak, saving her life. Kojak fell to the ground, allowing Kimi access to the river, but not before Kojak was able to sink his teeth into her soft underbelly. The cold water soothed Kimi’s burning wound. The current was violent, crashing against her like powerful walls trying to drown her. Kaya was crying somewhere far away. Her sobbing was enough to make her focus. Her powerful wolf kicked in the water, making the distance between her and Kojak greater. Solid ground appeared under her feet just when a wolf came into the clearing. Between his jaws hung a limb body. It was covered in wounds and blood. See what you made me do, Kimi? Kojak looked at her mate with disgust in his eyes. Kimi felt her wolf howl, but the wound on her stomach made the world go blurry. She felt her daughter caress her head, trying to keep her eyes open. “Mommy?” Her voice so frail, so innocent, so young. It wasn’t fair to push her to experience this. Give me the child willingly or I will kill him. Kojak walked up to Jester. His head dangled and Kimi feared that her mate was already gone, but a slight heartbeat told her that he was still with her. “Don’t let him take her.” Jester’s voice was so faint that Kimi was unsure if she had even heard him speak. But they had talked about their escape many times, and every time the outcome had been the same. They would die so she could live. Kimi felt her wolf retract. Her fur became soft skin and her limbs shrunk until she was nothing more than a thin young woman. “Kaya, listen to me,” she said, grabbing her daughter's face in her hands, “whatever they tell you, your father and I love you.” She wasn’t sure Kaya would remember her, but she needed her daughter to hear it, needed her to know that all of this was for her. “You will never get her Kojak.” Kimi could feel blood dripping from her wound, it was only a matter of minutes before it would kill her, but she was okay with that. “She is going to be an omega, and then she will be far away from you and your pack.” Kimi watched her alpha when she rose, leaving her daughter behind. This was their most sacred law, and Kojak would abide by it. Kimi felt the cold water hit her feet with a violent splash. She looked her mate in the eyes, saw the life they could have had. But fate had other plans for them. Kojak gave a slight nod, anger bellowing from him in waves. Kimi knew what came next, yet her heart still gave in when the wolf’s jaws snapped shut around her mate's exposed throat. Blood mixed with water when Kimi’s body got torn away by the current. The last thing she saw was her daughter reaching for her, and her mate's mutilated corpse hitting the ground with a thumb. But her daughter, her daughter was safe.