Little Ally
1577 Words
It was impossible to sleep, and so she lay there huddled in the blanket, her hand curled around the silver cross as she prayed for strength and guidance. Some of the wolves slept while others kept careful watch on the outer perimeter of the camp they had made. She wasn’t fool enough to think she’d be given any opportunity to escape. Not when she was worth more than her weight in gold.
But fortunately or unfortunately for her, depending on how she looked at it, she knew they wouldn’t kill her either, which granted her an advantage. She had nothing to fear from trying to escape and everything to gain.
An hour into her brainstorming, a commotion behind her had her sitting straight up and staring into the darkness. Around her, the sleeping wolves stumbled onto all fours, their sharp teeth elongated when a child’s cry rent the night.
One of the men hauled a kicking, wiggling child into the circle around the fire and dropped her on the ground. The child crouched and looked around wildly while the men laughed uproariously.
“What is this?” Remus demanded.
“Caught her trying to sneak off with some of our food supply,” the child’s captor said.
Anger slanted Remus’s features into those of the devil, made more demonic by the light of the fire. The girl, who couldn’t be more than eight or nine years old, tilted her chin up defiantly as if daring the man to do his worst.
“Why, you insolent little pup,” Remus roared.
He raised his hand, and Arya flew across the ground, throwing herself in front of the child as Remus’s fist swung and clipped her cheek.
She went reeling but recovered and quickly threw herself back over the child, gathering her close so she could cover as much of her as possible.
The girl struggled wildly under her, screeching obscenities no child should know, much less repeat. Her head connected with Arya’s already aching jaw, and she saw stars.
“Stop fighting and settle down,” she whispered to her, even though the wolves had super hearing. “Be still. I won’t let them hurt you.”
“Get off her!” Remus barked. “Don’t make promises you won’t be able to keep.”
She tightened around the little girl who finally stopped kicking and flailing. Remus reached down and curled his hand into her hair, yanking it brutally upward, but she refused to let go of her charge.
“You’ll have to kill me first,” she said coolly, daring him, when he forced her to look at him.
He dropped her hair with a curse, then reared back and kicked her in the ribs. She hunched over in pain but was careful to keep the child shielded from the maniacal brute.
“Remus, enough,” one man barked. “The alpha wants her in one piece.”
Muttering a curse, he backed away. “Let her keep the dirty beggar. She’ll have to turn loose of her soon enough and then I’ll have my fun.”
Arya snapped her neck up to glare into Remus’s eyes. “You touch this girl even once and I’ll plunge a dagger into my own heart.”
Remus’s laughter cracked the night. “That’s one crazy bluff, sweetheart. If you’re going to try to negotiate, you need to be believable.”
Slowly she rose until she stood a foot away from the much larger man. She stared up at him until his eyes flickered and he looked away.
“Bluff?” she said softly. “I don’t think so. In fact, if I were you, I’d be guarding any and all sharp objects from me. I know what my fate is - to be mated by that brute alpha of yours until I bear him a pup and he can claim Crescent Fall. It’s a fate worse than death.”
Remus’s eyes narrowed. “You’re insane!”
“Yes, that might be so, and in that case I’d be worried one of those sharp objects might find its way into your neck before I take my own life.”
He waved his hand. “You keep the girl. Alpha Jaxx will deal with her and you. He is not paying me enough to deal with all this drama.”
Arya ignored him and turned back to the girl who was huddled on the ground, staring at her with a mixture of fear and worship.
“Come,” she said gently. “If we snuggle up tight enough, there’s plenty of room under the blanket for the both of us.”
She went eagerly to her, tucking her smaller body flush against hers.
“Where is your home? Which pack do you belong to?” she asked when she had settled against her.
“I don’t know,” she said despondently. “It must be at least two days' run in wolf form from here. I am a member of the Silver Moon Pack.”
“Shh,” she said soothingly. “How did you come to be here?”
“I got lost. My dad said I should never leave the packlands without my bodyguard, but I was tired of being treated like a baby just because I’m a girl. I already have my wolf. I’m as tough as any male wolf.”
She smiled. “Oh I see. So you left the pack's lands to prove how tough you are?”
She nodded. “I took some food in my backpack and left. I was planning to meet up with my Uncle Jeremy. He was due to return soon and I wanted to wait near the border to greet him. ”
“Border?”
“Of our land.”
“And who is your dad, sweetie?”
“My name is Josie, not ‘sweetie. ’” The revulsion was evident in her voice, and Arya smiled again.
“Josie is a beautiful name. Now continue with your story.”
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Arya,” she answered softly.
“Oh, that’s a pretty name too. My dad is alpha Jamie Silver.”
Arya struggled to place the name, but there were so many packs she had no knowledge of. Her home was in the lower coastal plains, but she hadn’t seen the rest of the country in over ten long years.
“So you went to meet your uncle. Then what happened?”
“I got lost,” she said mournfully. “Then some rogue wolves found me and intended to take me to their alpha so they could demand a ransom for me, but I couldn’t let that happen. My pack is strong but we don’t have a lot of wealth. My dad has to think about the welfare of all the pack’s members. He can’t afford to pay my ransom. My pack will be pennyless.”
Arya stroked her hair as her warm breath blew over her breast. She sounded so much older and wiser than her tender years.
“I escaped and hid in a tree. Then I turned into my wolf and ran for an entire day but I got turned around and couldn’t find my way back home.” She tilted her head up, bumping Arya’s sore jaw again. “Do you know where we are, Arya?” she whispered. “If I can figure out where I am, I might be able to find my way back home again.”
“I’m not sure where your home is,” she said ruefully. “But we are in the lower coastal plains, and I would bet we’re at least a four days’ journey by foot from your pack's lands.”
“By foot?” she questioned. “Are you not a wolf? I can’t tell.”
Arya smiled at her confusion. “No, Josie. I’m not a wolf. The reason you’re confused is because my father is a werewolf and my mother is a human. But I am wolfless.”
“That must suck. I can’t imagine not having my wolf,” she stated. “How did you end up here? Did they kidnap you from your home too for ransom?”
She sighed. “Yes and no. But it’s a long story. One I will tell you when we leave this place.”
When Josie tensed for another question, Arya hushed her with a gentle squeeze. “Let’s not say anything else. We cannot be sure they are not listening to us. Go to sleep. We must keep our strength for what is to come next.”
“We’re going to escape?” she whispered.
“Yes, we have no other option. If we want to survive, we must,” she said in a forcefully cheerful voice. The fear Arya heard in Josie’s voice made her ache to protect her. How terrifying it must be for her to be so far from home and the ones who love her.
“Will you take me back home to my dad? If you can get me home, I’ll make him protect you from Alpha Jaxx. He loves me, so he is going to do it if I ask.”
She smiled at the fierceness in the little girl's voice. “Of course, I’ll see to it that you get home… safely.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
- Writer
