Alpha Rising

Chapter Six

Alvira's P.O.V.

Splitting pain ran down my spine as the impact of something large and hefty left me reeling in the glow of the campfire. The attack had flung me forward off of the log I’d been using as a bench. Gravel and packed earth crunched and scattered beneath me, my hands and knees stinging with scrapes and cuts when I caught myself. 

At the same time, Nell was thrust forward onto her knees as well. Her hair spilled forward over her shoulder and she stumbled too close to the fire for my comfort. She let out a pained yelp, and I could see her hands clench and dig into the dirt under her. 

Fury coursed through my body at the sound she made, her lithe limbs crumpling beneath her with the force of a second impact. Nell wasn’t as strong of a fighter as others, and she would have had a hard time reacting to something so forceful. I made to growl and stand up, but a searing pain struck my exposed back as something blazing hot was clasped to my skin. It made my entire body shudder in pain, and it took all of my effort to spin and snarl at my attackers. 

My brother lept over the open fire to the third man that was still approaching. Mid-shift, he looked like a true territorial beast as the muzzle and bared teeth sprouted from his face. By the time he landed he was fully changed, his hefty front paws landing sharply on the attacker’s chest as he shoved him backward into the ground. I could hear the agonizing scream that the man let out as Alban dug in with claws and teeth, ripping and tearing at anything he could find. 

Their appearance was one I wasn’t prepared for, and I only had a moment to take in the silhouette of the attacker before he lunged to strike again. They stood on two legs, appearing to be locked between shifts. His forearms were clad in fur, and his fingers curved to sharp claws that glinted in the light. The hood he wore still shrouded his face in shadows, but I saw the shine of pointed teeth catch with the fire, and wasn’t about to linger long enough to get a better look. With ease I dodged to the left of his swing, rolling under his arm and allowing my own shift to take over. 

I growled and snapped my jaws at him as he lunged forward again, this time sinking my teeth into the flesh of his arm. The attacker yowled in pain and tried to shake me off as best he could, but my jaw was locked in place, tightening ever so much more with every shake. The packed dirt beneath me offered little resistance as my paws dug in, the strength of my legs locking me in place. ‘Get to the car!’ I willed to Nell through the mind link. We were too far to reach the rest of the pack with the link, but I know we had decent reception out here. 

‘Trying to!’ Behind me, I could hear Nell whimper again, but there was also the gnash and growl of snapping teeth. She must have shifted. From the corner of my eye I saw her dart off into the woods, followed closely by the stocky man that had tried to grab for her tail. Nell’s wolf was far more lithe and nimble than the both of us. But she was quick. Her speed was hardly matched by any in our generation. With luck, that could be our saving grace. The pair of them vanished from sight not long after, and I could hear the calls and whistles that he let out in pursuit of her.

The man beneath my brother screamed, obscenities rolling from his mouth with every breath. “You filthy f*****g mutt!” He screamed. I could hear a heavy thud followed by my brother yelping in pain. “Get your damned paws off me!” Another thwack rang out, this time thicker and faster. He lunged for Alban, and was lucky enough to land a few swipes of his own claws on his side. From the brief glance I got, it looked like he was much the same as the one I was still wrestling with. Partly shifted. 

“Don’t kill it,” the one under my teeth hissed to his companion, a panicked edge to his tone that I hadn’t expected. “We need the beasts alive.” This was the first time I could see something shining in the shirt pocket. It looked like a chain or a keyring. To what, I couldn’t know.

But it was clear that they meant to take us. A deep-seated fear spun in my stomach and a thousand different scenarios played out in the hypothetical scenario. Everything in me screamed to run, but I couldn’t abandon my brother or Nell. Goddess, if Nell didn’t make it out of this. I had no idea what Joseph would even begin to do. 

 A flash of metal caught my eye as a blade swung through the air towards my brother. ‘Alban!’ My voice rang in his mind, though outwardly all I could do was growl. My opponent saw this as a perfect opportunity, much to my chagrin, and landed a clawed foot right to my stomach. I could feel my skin tear and the heat of pain ripped through the wound. 

The high pitched yelp that rang from my snarled lips made the few night birds still nearby scatter. I could hear their wings in the leaves, and I could smell the blood of the fight mingling with the burnt ash in the firepit. Warm blood trickled from the cuts on my stomach, and my flank shuddered despite my physical protests. There was a heaviness in my limbs that started to creep down slowly from my core, and I could see the self-satisfaction in the now fully exposed face of my attacker. 

What I saw would have been enough to induce nightmares in my youth, and was still enough to unnerve me even now. What I saw was a half-formed amalgamation of a wolf that was somehow frozen in-between forms. Tufts of fur were visible along his jawline and his face had partially shifted into an extended muzzle with teeth like razors. Tales of cursed wolves came back to me. The Elders long spoke of those who defiled the practices of the Moon Goddess being cursed to wander the earth in the space between their true forms, never knowing peace. 

Be it through stubbornness or fear, I managed to stay the shaking of my legs long enough to stand proud on all fours. Even in wolf form, my head rose to the height of an average man’s chest. And with my chest puffed out and my lips curled back, I could strike a truly intimidating figure. The rich brown of my fur shone in the light with an almost golden glow, and my blazing green eyes narrowed on the man who seemed shocked that I was still standing. 

Without warning, I lunged forward towards his neck. Two snaps of my jaws went wide but my paws and raking claws clashed with the fabric of his shirt and tore through it like butter. The third strike landed, and I could feel the shriek he let out reverberate through my teeth. It was brief, though, as a sickening crack sounded through my jaw and the attacker fell limp before me. Blood dripped from my chops as I stepped over the body and lowered my head. 

Each step I took was calculated, measured to be slow and methodical as I locked my gaze on the man still in pursuit of my brother. He muttered a breathy “Jesus Christ,” as his eyes went from his boss back to me, and without much ceremony, he dropped the blade in his hands and bolted for the treeline. I had been about to make chase when I heard the struggling whimper of my brother beside me and c****d my head to survey the damages. He was laying there, his breath coming rapidly as a dark pool started to matt the fur on his side. 

My options were clear; I could either chase down that man, or I could help my brother. I nosed his muzzle with my own and turned to the cabin. Mid sprint, I was human again and storming in through the front door. Panic flared in all of my senses as I moved with a speed that I didn’t realize I had. I darted from room to room, grabbing a pair of shorts for him and slipping a nightgown over my shoulders to help keep some of the dirt out of my own wound. I snagged bandages and water from the bathroom, and my cell from the basket before darting back out to come crashing on the ground at Alban’s side. 

He managed to shift back to normal, albeit painfully. I hissed in pain, feeling the tight s***h across my stomach stretch when I extended my reach a little to heave Alban to his back. Water splashed from the bottle onto his side, and I wiped it away with a bit of cloth before packing fresh gauze to it. 

‘Lost him!’ I heard Nell say finally. She didn’t feel too far away, but I couldn’t tell without focusing. 

‘Nell. Quick. Alban...Stabbed.’ Was all I could get out to her before I was shushing and doting on my brother again, brushing his hair from his face and carefully hoisting him up from the ground. With the roll of bandages hanging in my teeth, I reached down and grabbed the knife that had been used to stab my brother. If anything, it could help us figure out why this was such a different sort of injury.

My fingers brushed the blade and I felt the slight burn that meant only one thing. Silver. These beasts had been prepared, based on this. But I don't think they'd expected us to be as quick as we were. We had to get to the car and to a pack doctor soon. But our pack house was at least a three-hour drive… Two, the way Nell drove in a hurry. I didn’t know if we could risk it. I remembered us being closer to another pack, but I couldn’t recall which one off the top of my head.

Thankfully, she didn’t need much more encouragement to hoof it back to the site at top speed. Though she did pause at the cabin to grab her sun-dress and our wallets from the counter. I was glad for that, too, because I didn’t have the capacity to focus on anything other than Alban at that moment. A sentiment that Nell picked up on right away. She helped me load him into the SUV, laying down the back seat so I could keep pressure on his wound. 

Mine had started to heal somewhat, it felt like. But his was still bloodied and warm. I whispered words of comfort to him and brushed his hair off of his face with my free hand while Nell scrambled to put the car in reverse. 

She had called our parents while she drove, that much I could gather. I even remember speaking to them over bluetooth, to get mom to stop panicking. But I couldn’t even begin to remember what I had said or to what effect. Save for one word. “Carnelian.” It was the name of one of our sister packs. We were close enough to their borders that getting there would be faster than going all the way home. All Dad had to do was call Alpha Matthew and let him know that the three of us were injured and inbound. 

By the time we arrived at their pack’s hospital, I was dazed with exhaustion and Alban had started to bleed through the bandage I was pressing to his side. He hadn’t lost a lot more blood since, thank the Goddess, but he was still hot to the touch. It wasn’t until the doctors were wheeling him away on a gurney that I started to feel lightheaded in my own right. I looked down, the red stain on my dress blooming out from where the material clung to my own cuts. Even Nell was beaten and bruised, though she was lucky enough not to have been sliced with anything. 

All around me, my vision blurred and the room started to spin. As I lost the ability to stand, I felt the warm hands of my friend help catch and guide me more gently. But that was the last thing that I remembered before the whole world went black.

The steady rhythmic beeping of machinery was what woke me up after that. Sunlight was streaming through the window of the hospital room Alban and I shared, and I could see the sleeping form of Nell curled up with her head in Joseph’s lap on the small bench at the foot of my bed. Oh, thank the Goddess. They were both alright. 

With that, I let my head fall back against my pillow and felt a steady calm seep into my chest. And with that came the slowed beeping of the heart rate monitor,  evening out with every deep breath I took until it sounded as though I were almost normal again. We were safe.