Valkyrie's Revenge

Chapter 1

                As the sun began to shine through the thin curtains of her room Valkyrie could not help but consider hiding her head under the pillow for a few more minutes of sleep. Of course, she had wanted the south facing room with the large bay window, it was a perfect place for her to sit and read, but also gave her the connection to the openness of the grounds. It just so happened to look out on to the large yard, the pool, and the woods behind it all. The house stood on the land that had been claimed from her family all those years ago. Most of the pack’s territory had been split up amongst the surrounding packs, picking it apart for their own amusement like scavengers, but this had been left as neutral land, as well as the rest of the town. The northern part of town had always belonged to the pack lead by her father’s greatest ally, Evander Wood, and his family. When everything had happened, she had assumed that they would come to their aid, but instead they just joined in the frenzy taking what they could before everything of value was gone. The surviving warriors and pack members that were found were given to the packs that would take them, whether they wanted to go or not, then the homes were burned to hide the evidence of the crimes committed here. None of this was on Valkyrie’s mind when she considered hiding in her bed, it was not the circumstances of her life that she was avoiding, but rather the first day at her new college she was not looking forward to.

                Before she could consider how to hide from the world further three things happened all at once; her alarm went off blaring like a siren in her ear and small blurs of hair and giggles burst into her room and jumped on her bed. Growing up as the older sister in her makeshift family was not always easy, with 6 younger siblings, the twins by her side, and her older brother whom she had followed here, all cared for by Blair Wolfe, once doctor to her pack, now the man she called father. The giggling blurry beasts of hair were none other than Aaron and Alexander Braxton; brothers that had been orphaned in the attack and saved by Blair. At 8 and 10 they were two of the youngest in the family, but they never let that stop them. They both had a knack for escaping anywhere they were put, and when they wanted to be they were quite silent. Their father and mother had been expert trackers and it seems those genes had been passed a long to them, without Alexander ever having a chance to know his parents beyond his birth. As they landed on Valkyrie with a thud the giggles continued as she reached up and hugged them close through the blankets, knowing that they were leaving with Blair to head home today made her question her decision to follow Raven here for a moment, but she knew it was for the best.

                “Alex, Aaron, please tell me you did not jump on your sister again.” She hears from the hallway, moments before Blair is standing in her doorway. “Sorry pumpkin, they snuck away while I was prepping breakfast. Now that you are up though there are pancakes and such downstairs. I figured we could have a big breakfast before we head back out and you all head to school, hurry though, Ethan and Emery are already down there.” He finished with a chuckle as he lifted Alexander off my bed giving Aaron a light tap on the behind with his foot to get moving back downstairs. Taking a moment to take in her surroundings one more time before getting out of bed she considers why she decided to move back. Supporting Raven in his residency was a large part of it, but when she learned her brother would be returning to their home, she saw it as the opportunity to finally find out who had betrayed her family and pack and avenge what had happened. Once she has those answers, she can reclaim her packs lands and strength, and nothing is going to stop her from achieving that. For too long she had sat by and allowed other tell her what was common or natural in her world, but now it is time for her to rise as a new Alpha. Female Alpha’s were often seen as weak or easy prey, but she is ready to show them all that trying to silence her family’s strength had awakened something much more dangerous. For now, however, the largest hurdle in her path is the grumbling in her stomach.

                Throwing back the covers she stands and stretches her arms above her head then reaches down and to touch the ground in front of her feet. Anytime she has been still for a long time she feels the need to stretch her limbs and stay limber, even if that reason is sleep. Ever since she was a child she could not still for long, always having the need to be on the move; looking for the best way to stay ahead of the pack, edge out those that would underestimate her or think that she was nothing more than a dutiful daughter. As she made her way downstairs to the sounds of conversation and laughter, and the smell of fresh coffee, she pulled her hair up in to a messy bun on the top of her head. Both a blessing and a curse, she got her mothers hair, straight and thick. Her father gave her the colour, black as can be, just like her wolf, though not many had seen that. A wolfs colour is an indication of their power, with pure white and pure black being the most powerful and often the rarest. As the voices and smells got closer, she focused on them and not the idea of giving in to her urge for a run, it would need to wait until later. Today she needed to get to class and get an idea for what the wolf presence in the area is like before she lets her guard down enough to shift. 

                “There’s sleeping beauty! Finally decided to join us and eat something before class?” Raven says as he puts his arm around her shoulders in a hug, handing her a cup of coffee. He knows she will not drink it, but she has often just held a cup and smelled it as she contemplated what lies ahead. The smell of the coffee reminded her of a simpler time when she would make her dad’s coffee in the morning and give it to him. Now whenever she is facing a new challenge or has a particularly hard day the smell of coffee brings her back there and she can almost hear her fathers voice in her head helping to guide her to the right course of action. Taking a seat beside Emery she fills her plate with everything she can reach, pancakes, bacon, and fruit; eating all she can as she listens to the laughter of her younger siblings. When they leave today it will be the first time since they left this place that she will be without them. Blair is taking Aaron, Alexander, Emma, Bailey, Knox, and Max home, leaving he the only female with some very testosterone filled wolves. Ethan and Emery had been her best friends growing up, their birthday being 2 weeks before hers, they had always done everything together. They are Blair’s biological children and were a big part in why so many kids were saved from being split up amongst the other packs. Her and Raven had witnessed some of the gruesome attack on her family before running away, thankfully first found by Blair. His office was connected to the hospital through a series of tunnels, and they were able to sneak out the children of the pack without being noticed. In the basement of his office there was a storm shelter that he kept stocked in case of an emergency, though there had never been a thought that this would be the emergency.

                When they all came out of the shelter, they were quick to get out of town, waiting to be somewhere safe before attempting to access Raven and Valkyrie’s bank accounts set up by their parents. The fires had been deemed arson by a gang in the area, and the deaths had been downplayed. Reports of their parents’ deaths had been said to be a tragic accident, saying they died with their little girl, with no mention of the siblings except that they were not home at the time. The will left quite a fortune for the group to restart on neutral land far away and that is what they did. For eight years they grew, learned, bonded, and healed; but they never forgot about what happened all those years ago. Raven decided he would follow in Blair’s footsteps and become a doctor, wanting to learn to heal those around him, and knowing he was not made to be a leader like Valkyrie is. When they first saw her wolf when she shifted at sixteen, they knew then that she was not just an Alpha by blood but an Alpha by legacy. A female wolf with a pure black wolf had never been seen, and since they discovered it she has kept that secret close to her chest. Only once did another pack come across her and Raven out for a run, they made sure to get far enough ahead to hide and shift back before they caught up. The foreign wolves had no trouble believing Raven was an outcast pure black Alpha and Valkyrie as just his sister with her black wolf with white ears and feet. They never saw a reason to correct it and from that day on were much more careful of where they ran and who they trusted.

                “Earth to Val…” she heard as she saw Emery waving his hand in front of her face. She smiled in his direction realising she had spaced out thinking about life and what was ahead. As she looked around the table, she could not help but tear up at the family she was going to miss so much. As she held up her cup looking to those around the table, she looked for the right words to mark this moment and what it would mean for all of them moving forward. Feeling a hand on her shoulder she looked over to see Blair nodding to her, giving her the courage to speak.

                “I do not want to say something flowery that makes it seem like this is goodbye, but I need to mark this moment. Raven is taking steps to becoming a great doctor like Blair,” she emphasises this with a smile in his direction. “Beyond that it marks the start of the search for who betrayed us and killed my parents and sister. Eight years ago, there was no way to imagine this is where we would be, or that you would choose me to be your leader and Alpha. I make this promise to you here and now, not only will I avenge our pack and all our losses, but I will regain our lands and give us back the home we once had. I know who I am looking for, in eight years I never forgot the face I saw, and I will not rest until I find him. It starts right here, right now, on the land that was once my home; and it will not end until we all have justice. I love you, all of you…” she chokes up unable to say more. Everyone around the table has a mix of emotions painted on their faces, pain, anger, sorrow, pride, but no words are spoken for a few minutes.

                “Well, as my last act as head of this family instead of member of this pack, I vote we get these dishes cleared and get moving. No one ever succeeded sitting at their kitchen table.” Blair added. He knows he will always be more than a member of the pack, but he has been saying that since she was sixteen, there is no stopping him now. For now, everyone laughs and moves to clear the table before heading off to get ready for the day. As the foursome prepares to leave hugs and tears are shared by all, promises to call when they get home are made and plans for weekly check ins are scheduled. Finally, they are off to start this new chapter and nothing they can think of will be able to stop them.