Chapter Four
1014 Words
A terrified cry echoes through the night, springing me to my feet, ready for a fight. With a quick survey of my surroundings, I see nothing to cause alarm around me. Another cry came pinpointing my attention to the north, closer to the Shadow pack territory. Crap. Every instinct in me is screaming to go help. Those cries sounded truly helpless, but if I'm caught near the border I will have a whole other situation on my hands. It takes me a split second to make my decision as another cry sounds, this one weaker. "Onyx, let's go get them," I say, taking off at a run while opening the connection and letting my wolf take over. We shift in a graceful mid-sprint, not wasting any more time.
The sounds of running and crying are heightened, and we rush through the dense underbrush of the forest. The scene I come across has my heart twisting and rage burning in my blood. A group of three rogue wolves have a family cornered against an oak tree. I see the mother cradling a young girl whose blue eyes are wide with terror. Her little hand was outstretched to the male wolf in a broken pile in front of her. "Papa!!" she cried, trying to wiggle out of her mother's arms to get to him. The bloodied father lifts his head and gives a small smile to the girl. "I'm alright, sunshine. Give momma a big hug and count to 50, okay?" his voice breaks at the end as tears cloud his vision. The little girl stares at the man and nods brokenly. She turns to her mother and buries her face in her arms.
"What a touching scene, if you would have just given us the woman and child, this could have been so much simpler," the largest rogue with a massive gash across his chest says as he steps forward. "Never, I will never give them to you," the man growls out as he tries to get to his feet. The lanky rogue steps up and kicks his leg out from under him. The beaten wolf falls with a groan as his wife whimpers. "Not much you can do about it now, huh?" the third and final rogue sneers, advancing on the man as well.
"I think he's done quite enough, boys. But I don't think I'm going to let you take them either," I said casually, as I stepped out of the darkness into the moonlit opening. Three heads snapped in my direction on guard and then slowly relaxed. "Well, well, well. It's our lucky night boys. Looks like we stumbled across a real treasure," the bulky rogue runs a hand through his greasy brown hair and licks his lips. Three sets of eyes scan me from head to toe, lingering in places long enough to make my skin crawl. "What's a pretty little omega like you doing in the woods all alone?" says the lanky one, slowly closing the distance to me. Red-hot anger blazes through me, I'm so tired of being treated as weak. "We will no longer hide our power," Onyx growls out in my head. "End them."
I had a quick glance over to the family and saw the husband huddled close to his family, shielding them from me and the rogues.
Good move, at least he sees me as a threat. I smiled at him with a small nod, hoping he saw I was not the enemy, and turned back to the rogue scum in front of me. "Didn't you all ever hear not to judge a book by its cover?" I smiled and I'm sure I looked slightly deranged since the men took a step back. Perfect opening. I launch myself at their leader, calling my power and transforming my hand into my wolf's paw. Claws, as long as daggers, spring out mid-air and slice right through the large rogue's jugular, incapacitating him. He's not dead. Wolves can heal from that much but it will take a lot of time. I stand between the remaining two with their leader bleeding at my feet, they drop into fighting stances, finally seeing me as a real threat. I smirk and curl a finger at them, taunting them to come to get me. They roar, launching at me at the same time. I target the lanky one first, dropping low so his friend flies over me. I kick out his legs and he falls hard on his back. I gave him a sharp kick to the head, reminiscent of the one he gave to the broken wolf not too long ago. Karma's a b***h and she's got my name. After he's knocked out cold, I turn to the last remaining rogue, ready to end this. We collide, trading blows. He lands one on my side, I land one at his temple. He stumbles back, a bit disoriented from the blow to the head. I pounce on him, landing blow after blow till he's limp beneath me besides the soft rise and fall of his chest.
I would not kill these men. I believe the Shadow pack would have much more creative plans for them. I turned to ask the family if they were okay and heard multiple wolves coming right for us. "Get behind me," I cried out as the family moved behind me, allowing me to shield them. I reach for the power within me, ready for the next fight.
A dozen wolves break into the forest clearing, positioning themselves all around us. Breaking through the middle of them, a massive pitch-black wolf towers in front of us, baring his teeth. The family behind me cries out and holds each other tighter. We are so screwed. There's no mistaking it. This is the alpha of the Shadow Pack. The huge wolf takes in its surroundings, its golden eyes lingering on me the longest as if seeing my soul. The next instant, the alpha shifts.
A voice so deep and rough breaks the silence, "Who the hell are you?" Wow. Charming.
- Writer
