A New Day
1064 Words
"Rogues!! This is not a drill! all elderly and children to the shelter in the basement. Warriors, use drill one and break into the designated 5 positions around the Packhouse!" Tomas ordered through the mindlink in his alpha tone. Nobody would sleep through that. I rolled over to see that Tatum had already started fumbling with his shoes. It was still dark and I was defenseless so it was my job to gather any elderly or children as I headed to the shelter. Tate grabbed my hand and pulled me to his chest, a quick hug before bolting out the door. I grabbed my tiny backpack and stumbled down the dorm halls in my pajamas. Most of the people in this dorm are fighters so the hall was almost empty. I started to hear crashing and growls rising from outside.
I was trying so hard to run down the stairs that I practically fell. 2 more flights and I landed on the main floor of the pack house and headed towards the shelter through the kitchen. As I passed little Alyssia was hiding under a counter and I could hear her cries from under the cabinet. She was the Alpha's daughter. I scooped her up and continued to run, she cried and gripped onto my neck tightly, her short black hair whipping into my face as I shuffled with her wrapped around my torso. I heard the kitchen glass door break behind me as we reached the shelter door. It was already sealed. My heart began to pound and I opened the mind link, "Let us In! Aly is with me and they're getting inside!" The luna slammed the door open and yanked us in as snarls approached us from behind. While slamming the door and locking us gave us a momentary feeling of safety, it was not impenetrable, and for them to be inside the pack house was not a good sign for the Crescent rain pack. Alyssia was crying hysterically and it was so dark it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Luna Amber took her daughter from me and thanked me before addressing the pack members sheltering with us.
"We do not know how long this will last. Things are not looking great. The pack house has been infiltrated. Children to the back and those who are able to shift or most able to defend themselves please position yourselves behind me near the door. If the come in, we will not go down without a fight".
I began to panic. I wanted to link Tate and see that he was okay, but I know better than to distract a warriors mind during battle. After what felt like days, but was really only hours transpiring, Alpha Tomas finally opened the doors. He was bloodied, his brown hair matted with blood, his left arm looked like it was mauled to pieces. He staggered against the door and practically whispered, "it's over, not without major losses. We will have a pack meeting after everyone has time to rest. I need to make some calls.". Luna Amber ran to her Mate and Alyssia ran from the back of the room towards her father. The pack doctor pat his shoulder signaling that he would provide attention and everyone began to shuffle out.
Our pack house was a disaster, or the main floor was at least. Outside you could see more dark red and browns than green. The sunrise illuminating the bloodshed from the attack. The bodies of wolves both friend and foe scattered across the grounds and I almost gagged immediately from the strong smell of copper in the air. I mind linked Tate, "Tater, everything okay?" Silence. My heart dropped. I stopped heading in the direction of my dorm and returned to the kitchen approaching the sliding glass door that was now in pieces. I couldn't breathe as panic took over. I began to look for his wolf, his colors and size would stand out but I didn't see him. I circled the pack house and scanned the fields and the road leading to town with no sign of him and my mind went to the worst place. "You can't leave me. Tate, this isn't funny!" I practically screamed at him through the mindlink.
Then, by the tree line, I see him. My heart instantly breaking after realizing that although he was alive, My best friend was not okay. Physically he only had a couple gashes that his wolf had already started to heal, but in his arms he clung to the limp body of his father. Tate's eyes were red and tears were pouring. He looked like he was ready to explode. His breathes were short and deep and an almost guttural sound was escaping him with every breathe. He may not have been in the best place with his father, but that never changed the fact that he loved him.
"Tate.... ", that was all I managed to say before I broke into sobs with him and held him. When the pack doctor came to take his fathers body, the explosion came; Tate's strong sobs turned into screams, wailing of pain and grief. He shifted into his wolf and turned his head towards me. He laid down and I climbed on without a word as he took off running to try to pull himself together. We ran until sunset although the time seemed so much shorter. Running was our release. Whenever I couldn't cope with the weight of being me, I would ask Tate to run. When Tate's mate had rejected him, he asked me to run with him. No words. To be alone without being alone. This was our way of coping but Tate rarely needed me as much as I needed him in these moments. As we arrived back to the Pack house, the gory site from the night before had almost never existed. There was only one window not replaced from the wreckage. Tate didn't even bother with clothes. Jax, his wolf, was so hurt and exhausted that between his pain and Tate's, there was no room left for him to care about modesty. I knew he needed to eat, so I pulled out our German Hippos that were saved for special occasions and we ate 2 whole boxes as Tate cried and fell asleep in my lap.
- Writer
