Runt's Revenge

Blood Oath

Athena hoisted the heavy bag of food and supplies that she had taken from the cabin up onto her shoulder.

“You will need to ride on my back again, Fun-Size, just for a little bit,” she said.

As Cassie nodded her head in agreement, Athena’s winced as she heard Damien’s voice booming in her head.

“Athena, you will come to me and be my mate!” He growled in an Alpha tone. “This is your last chance. Bring the girl. I will be expecting you!”

Athena may have been born a runt, but she was still an Alpha’s daughter. She felt compelled to follow the order, but at the same time, knew that she could and must resist it. She didn’t answer, but somehow her feeling was conveyed through the link to the new Alpha of the pack.

“You have dug your grave, little runt.” He muttered in her mind and then she heard him shout out to the entire pack through the link, “GLACIER VALLEY PACK! The Runt and the Warrior West have killed Alpha Eric. They are considered to be dangerous traitors of the pack. Kill them on sight!”

“Nea?” Said the little girl, tapping her shoulder. She could see that Athena was listening to someone through the link. “What’s happening? Who are you talking to?”

“Little one!” Now West was linking her, and he sounded winded and distracted.  

Athena held out a finger to the girl as if asking for a moment…

“West! West! Are you okay? Is the Alpha d-d-,” she couldn’t say the word, “Is he gone?”

“Little one, listen to me. You have to break your link to the pack. I do too. It will make it harder for them to track us. I am so sorry, Nea, but you and I will not be able to communicate once it is done,” Said the seasoned warrior sadly.

“But, We will be rogues. We will go feral,” worried Athena.

“One does not go feral from being a rogue. A wolf goes rogue because they are feral. You are an Alpha’s Daughter. You are a pack unto yourself. And so is the girl that you are with.”

West paused for just a moment, “Nea, I have an idea. Become that little girl’s Beta, take a blood oath to her. It will change your scent slightly to reflect your new pack allegiance. It will also allow the two of you to communicate through your own link.”

“West, I…”

“No more time, little one! Do it! And run, get as far away from here as you two can, at least to start. You will need all of your skills. Leave no trace when possible. After the girl is safe, you will be free to avenge your father, your Alpha, and perhaps even me.”

“What?” She replied, “West, are you okay? West? West? I love you!” But the link was broken. She couldn’t feel him anymore. He must have immediately severed his allegiance to the pack. Her heart broke yet again. But there was no time to contemplate her feelings.

“Fun-Size…” she looked at the girl hoping that she was as quick as she seemed.

“Yes, Nea,” she whispered back.

“I have to break my link to my pack to get you home,” she explained. “My warrior friend said that it would help if I became your Beta. We could link then, when we are close, like you do when you are close enough to your father. When you wolf fully emerges, then we would be able to link longer distances. So… are you willing to be my Alpha?” Nea didn’t tell Cassie about Damien’s demands or pack orders… she didn’t want to freak her out.

Cassie smiled, “Oh wow! My first Beta! Yes, I trust you Nea. I will make you my Beta.”

“Okay, I have to do this first… I, Athena of the Glacier Valley Pack, renounce my pack and their Alpha… Damien.” Damien’s name did not come easily after the Alpha title. It felt so wrong! Athena felt lighter somehow, but also alone. She turned back to Cassie.

“I’m ready. Do you know what a blood oath is, Fun-Size?”

 But Cassie had already removed her little back pack while Athena had been severing her link. She was taking a small folding knife out of one of the pockets. “I’ve seen my dad do this. Give me your hand, Nea.” Cassie bit her lip as her eyebrow came together in concentration. She drew the blade across Nea’s hand, just enough to cut through the skin and make her start bleeding. She drew in her breath as she did the same to her own hand.

“She is a brave one,” Angel proudly stated. “A worthy Alpha for us!”

Athena was glad her wolf agreed with her. She smiled at the girl as Cassie instructed her to pump her fist to get the blood flowing and they grasped hands. The blood mingled, mixing, some of it dripping from their hands into the soil before healing over.

“I, Future Alpha Cassie, of the River’s Edge Pack, formally declare Athena, of no pack, to be my Beta, and a member of the River’s Edge Pack.”

“I, Athena, accept Future Alpha Cassie as my Alpha and swear to protect my new Alpha with my life.”

ZING… the girls felt the power pass between them and a link to each other’s minds forming.

“Oh gosh, Nea! I felt my wolfie! I felt her!” Cassie linked excitedly.

“Athena smiled, linking, “you are powerful, Alpha Cassie. Now, hop on… we need to move!”

“You can still call me Fun-Size,” she whispered out loud, almost shyly, swinging her back pack on and jumping up onto her new Beta’s back.

Athena ran North. It was tiring running with the child on her back. It had been a long-ass day! She ran up to where the little dipper creek crossed over the trail. Once in the creek, she took West’s dirty socks off of her feet, and Cassie’s too, even though she hadn’t used them much. She threw one sock into the woods on the other side of the creek.

“Okay Cassie, we need to walk in the water. Don’t step on the bank or on top of any rocks. If you need a rest, let me know so I can carry you.”

The girls continued on upstream. About 5 miles upstream, Nea and Cassie each put on another pair of West’s old socks. Nea had them run straight from the creek about a quarter mile to the East Creek along the trail where the rogues had been holding Cassie. They walked right up to that creek and Nea threw two more of the original socks to the other side of the creek. Then she had Cassie, who was getting tired, hop on her back again as they doubled back to the Little Dipper Creek.

The girls picked their way up stream until it split, the upper river had two arms, one which flowed as the Little Dipper through the Glacier Valley Packlands, and the other, the big dipper, which turned West toward Pine City, a human town. She looked at the exhausted girl next to her, and she also knew that she, herself, would not be able to stay sharp if they didn’t get some rest. Hopeful that they were beyond being easily tracked, she headed down stream, connecting with a human hiking trail that led down to the lights of the town. It was easier going on the trail, even in their wet squishy shoes.

“Come on, Fun-Size, let’s go find a place to rest.”

They snuck into town. The sun was just starting to rise. There was a motel on the edge of town that had a flickering neon sign indicating that they had rooms available. As they walked through the front door, a bell chimed and a tired looking teenager stumbled to the front desk from a back room. They had probably woken him up.  

“Can we get a room?” Nea asked.

“I’ll need a credit card and some ID,” he said, rubbing a hand through his messy hair.

“My sister and I are so tired. Can we just pay cash now and I can come back with that after getting a little rest?” She tried her hardest to look cute, despite her fatigue, as she flirted with the young man. “We’ll be here for three nights,” she said, looking convincing as she laid a $100 dollar bill on the counter.