Braided Fate - A Werewolf Romance

(Mari POV) I stared out into the crowd. My pack was usually so carefree, so happy. All I could see right now were the dried tears on the children’s faces, the torn up clothes revealing torn skin and muscle, blood dripping from the warriors’ wounds, the shredded furniture, the stamp of terror on everyone’s face and so many more physical manifestations of the fight and loss we had just endured. I could hear them murmuring, muttering, moaning. They were in pain. We all were. The loss of our Alpha and Luna was burning through our connection as a pack. We were alone. What would we do now? Who would lead us?    “Please, keep calm! Keep filing in! Once you are in, stay put! We are trying to get a good head count and if you do not stay still, we cannot figure out who is here and who is not!” The sound and movement of the group froze as Simon, the Beta, boomed out orders. Feeling the power behind his words, we relaxed. The Alpha bond was safe, stored in our Beta’s own blood. To do this, he had to have found the Alpha and cut to reveal blood and mix blood with him. This could have happened before or after the fight. The Bond was safe and that’s all that mattered. We would endure the rest of this together. Having successfully calmed myself down, I took a deep breath and stood. I was a trained soldier and healer. I could help. I took an even more detailed look at my pack. There were several injured women and children. I was more worried about the children. Anyone under 12 years of age hadn’t shifted yet and didn’t have the healing powers of their wolf.    Mari, we should get a start on getting the pups patched up. Let the Beta and Gamma worry about the adults. The firm, comforting voice of my wolf, Kya, prompted me into action.    “All pups under 12, come to me now to be assessed! If you have not shifted, I need to see you!” I ordered. I did not have the Alpha’s Bond weighing my words, but they listened immediately. Within seconds, I had a line of children in front of me and building. Using a pocket flashlight I kept on my keys, I began working my way down the line. I checked each wound and looked into each child’s eyes looking for any signs of serious injury. The line was building faster than I could clear it. I called out into the mind-link in frustration.    “Dr. Vine! I need you or another doctor at the front of the pack-house. I am triaging the children. My thoughts are we can tend to the adults after the pups are secure,” I called out through the pack’s mind-link. Why wasn’t Dr. Vine already working on the children? He was the pack’s healer. My question was answered the moment I felt embarrassment from the doctor. He was horrified that checking on the children first hadn’t occurred to him.    “I’m on my way!” Dr. Vine immediately responded. Satisfied, I turned my attention to the pup in front of me. It was an eleven year old girl in the arms of her father. I knew this girl. Lily was the sweetest thing.    “What’s wrong?” I asked, immediately moving to feel for her heart beat. Her heart was racing and her skin was hot to the touch. I froze when I saw a patch of white fur and bone jutting out next to her elbow. I felt sick to my stomach. She was mid-shift. Her father hadn’t even had a second to respond to me.    “Put her down now! Quick!” Lily’s father laid her carefully on the floor.    “Simon! I need you by the fireplace!” I called out to Simon. I vaguely registered his response as I focused on Lily who was trembling and barely breathing. I had only heard of this. Our pack hadn’t experienced war in over 200 years, so I wouldn’t have seen this before despite my internship with the doctors. I had seen this in the books my mother had made me study. Lily wasn’t ready to transition, but the fight had pushed her wolf out to protect her and those she loved. And then we had lost our Alpha and Luna. It had been like a physical blow for everyone. And her tiny body just could not handle a shift without her Alpha. She was mourning and scared. Just as I was about to move on, Simon appeared. He paled when he saw Lily’s state.    “She’s mid-shift! Mari, she’s only 11...” His voice caught. I grabbed his arm and his face snapped up. What was the use of a Beta that panicked?    “Command her to shift, Simon. That’s the only hope she has. An Alpha can call her out of where she is. Please.” I begged, my voice low with urgency. Simon paled.    “Mari, I’m not an Alpha,” he looked at me pleadingly.     “Do it. Now, Simon. We will not lose a child. We can’t lose more today. I can’t lose more today,” my voice broke on that last word. Simon nodded and took a deep breath.    “SHIFT!” He growled. I felt the power of the alpha bond through the one word. Nothing happened for the longest moment. I jumped when Simon fell to his knees from the strain. He paled. Lily was trying, her body was trembling even more, but she wasn’t quite there. This was killing Simon. He had given an order and if there wasn’t enough power to push Lily forward, they would both die. There was no use for an Alpha that didn’t have the dominance to get things done. My heart raced. I was going to lose both of them. If Simon couldn’t handle it, the Gamma most certainly couldn’t.    You’re the Alpha, Mari. If you don’t step up, you’re going to kill your Beta and the children of your pack. Look around. There are at least three other children mid-shift. Your mother and father raised you for this. You have the skills.    Kya, I can’t! I’m engaged to the son of a neighboring Alpha! I can’t be both Alpha and Luna! Besides, I’m not a male! I literally just turned 20 and I’m unmated. They won’t accept me.    Mari, if you don’t step up, right now, the Alpha Bond will be lost and our pack will be rogues. Kya hissed in my brain. Simon was trying his best to push through. He was sweating and the veins on his neck bulging.    “Simon, I’m so sorry,” his eyes widened and he shuddered as my claws sunk into his shoulder and neck. I vaguely felt someone trying to separate us. I heard the yelling. I felt all the emotions through the pack link. The anger. The fear. The confusion.    It was all pushed into the background by a surge of strength. I felt the Alpha Bond enter my bloodstream and I released my hold on Simon as the Bond hit my heart. I screamed as the Bond forced me to shift. I could feel the new power in our muscles. I had thought I was close to my pack before. Now, I was a live wire. My sensitivity to my pack's emotions heightened.  I cringed as the emotions I had felt from them quadrupled in intensity. Pulling deep, I howled, letting Kya take over.    “SHIFT, NOW, PACK! ALL OF YOU! SHIFT FOR YOUR ALPHA!” She demanded, the Alpha’s Bond making our demand shiver through the pack’s very veins. We stood as a huge white wolf with black speckles across our coat. The Alpha Mark of a little half moon was on my chest. I felt it burn as my pack shifted one by one and howled with me.    Then, just as quickly as it started, I let go and everyone shifted back. There we were, just a group of naked people. I stood tall as I looked at my pack. Not one of them had a scratch on them. They had been healed by shifting. I felt so grateful. Now we could focus on the children too young to shift.    “Pack, welcome your Alpha, the first female alpha for Lunar Pack, only child of Alpha Jonathon and Luna Lisa of Lunar Pack, Marigold Kya Rey!” Simon boomed next to me, recovering and processing what was happening way faster than I did. I was standing absolutely bare in front of my pack, the little half moon burning into my skin above my left breast, just over my heart. My muscles felt stronger and larger as the Alpha Bond soared through our veins. I could feel that my strength was directly tied to my pack. I felt the blood leave my cheeks as I realized exactly what had just happened. I was Alpha now.