The Alpha's Sacrifice

The Chair

Killian’s POV 

“Alright, let’s get you into your wheelchair and I can take you to this pack I have found for you.” Sinead directed. 

“What’s the name of this pack that’s taking me in?” I wondered out loud. 

“The Blessed Moon Pack. The Alpha is a merciful and caring man. He reminds me of how the Night Moon Pack used to be.” Sinead said, slightly dissatisfied with the way her own pack had been going.  

“Well, let’s hope they are better to me than my own pack was,” I said, “although anything is better than being left to die. So, it won’t take much.” 

“Come on now, Killian, try to be positive,” Sinead told me. 

“It’s hard to be optimistic when you’re the only one who has ever cared for me, Sinead.” I spoke flatly. 

The Night Moon pack used to be better when my great grandparents were Alphas. My grandmother Adeline and her mate Liam had run the pack well, but their second oldest took over the pack and then things were a little different after that. Fia, my mother, should have been the next in line to run the pack, but because she was cursed and didn’t find her true mate, she was unable to run the pack. So, her brother became Alpha. After that, all those affected by the curse were forgotten or thrown away, like me. 

Only Sinead still seemed to care about those of us affected by the curse. She took it upon herself to stay with us until the curse was broken. Which, by my calculations, is almost an impossibility. Good thing, Sinead has a really long lifespan. I am grateful to her for saving me, even though I don’t feel like part of anything right now. 

I lifted myself into my wheelchair. It was rudimentary and had to be pushed by someone else. I couldn’t roll it myself. I had a different means of getting myself around that I had invented myself. It was kind of like a small wagon. It was smaller, closer to the ground so that I could propel myself. I used it more often when I was alone. For today, Sinead wanted me to be in the one she could push. I guess it made a better impression.  

Sinead grabbed a blanket and covered my legs with it. My legs had poor circulation and would get cold easily. She didn’t know what was wrong with my legs and I had stopped searching for answers long ago. All we knew was it was a result of the curse. Sinead only had so many books I could find any information in and I hadn’t found anything in any of them. One of my legs was badly twisted starting at my hip, the other was just floppy or limp, whatever you wanted to call it, but the point was I couldn’t move it.  

“I have a small carriage that can take us there, just out front with two horses,” Sinead told me. 

 She wheeled the chair out my bedroom door and through the tiny kitchen to the front door. Being, as I was in a wheelchair, my room was on the bottom floor of the cabin. I could go upstairs if I lifted myself up them one step at a time, but I didn’t really have a reason to go upstairs. Sinead made sure I had everything accessible to me on this level of the cabin. It's not like it mattered anymore though. I was leaving. I wondered if I would ever be back. This was my home; I had never been anywhere else. How was I going to fit into the Blessed Moon Pack? Who would wheel me around at school? I assumed I would be expected to attend school, now that I would be part of a pack. Sinead had taken care of most of my education up until now. 

“I hope it wasn’t too much of a bother for you to get the carriage,” I said to Sinead.  

“None at all. It’s the safest way to get us to the Blessed Moon Pack.” Sinead replied. 

It was the safest way. With me unable to walk, I wasn’t able to ride a horse. It wasn’t just my inability to walk, however, that made the trip dangerous. The woods were dangerous. If Sinead traveled in wolf form she could be killed by the hunters and in a carriage, we were vulnerable to attack by rogues or robbers on the way. Not that we had anything of value.  Any carriage on the road was a target.  

When we were outside of the cottage, Sinead pushed my chair for me. My chair jostled and bumped along the rocky ground until Sinead stopped beside the carriage door. She opened it for me and I pulled myself out of my chair and into the carriage. I was able to pull myself into the seat and made myself comfortable while Sinead lifted my wheelchair onto the back of the carriage and tied it in place. Sinead came back around and looked in at me. 

“Are you ready?” Sinead asked me. 

“As ready as I can be,” I answered. 

Sinead closed the door and climbed up top, where she would be driving the carriage. She grabbed the reins in her hands and flicked the leather straps and the carriage jolted forward. Suddenly, I felt anxious. Sinead was always there for me. After she left me with this new pack, I would have to fend for myself. What would I be doing? How were they going to expect me to pull my weight and contribute to the pack? Who would I be living with? All these things bothered me and Sinead hadn’t answered all those questions. 

I watched out the window as the carriage moved across the countryside. It was fall and the leaves on the trees were changing colors. It was my favorite time of year. I loved the sight of the changing colors and the smells. I tried not to worry about this new pack or whether or not I would fit in or find my place among them.