The Female Alpha

Chapter 4

Drago’s Point of View

My sister Dia was too smart for her own good—and quite cunning. She’d unloaded a lot of information, knowing full well I'd need time alone to process it and would do anything to keep Rose safe. She’d planned this run carefully, leading us straight to the border. It was clear she knew I’d agree to her plan before I even realized it myself.

As Dia ran back to the pack house, she linked me the clues Cartee had shared. In the old pack house, inside the Luna's office, you must sing the stars' song to Sirius. It wasn’t much, but Cartee, who’d been Rose’s nanny for years, had spent considerable time in that office. The old wolf had been away visiting family in Spain when the attack happened. Even now, in his sixties, he worked as hard as the younger wolves, still hoping to ease the guilt he carried for not being there to protect the pack. None of us ever blamed him, though. In fact, we held him in high regard.

Out of seventy-seven pack members, we had seven over eighty, nineteen between fifty and sixty-five, twenty-three between thirty and fifty, nineteen between sixteen and thirty, and the rest were pups. The elders were survivors and a vital link to our pack's past. Every weekend, we gathered to hear their tales, and Cartee made sure our clan's traditions lived on. He’d even preserved the song of the stars, said to have been passed down to the first of our clan hundreds of years ago. Its melody, haunting yet beautiful, was something we all knew by heart, though Cartee had always kept its true purpose a secret. I hadn’t sung it since I was a boy; thinking about it now, I felt a strange weight settle over me, like a call from another time.

A mile into the territory, I felt Pedro’s unrest burning in the back of my mind. Something wasn’t right. I needed to quiet my thoughts and focus.

“Oooooooooo,” I called out softly, waiting for the vibrations of my call to return. I had once met a monk in China who taught me to use echolocation, honing my other senses to see despite my blindness. The forest was thick, and the wind barely touched it. To the west, deer grazed peacefully, but everything else was unnervingly still. The air smelled of trees—maple and... star fruit? Something was off.

Sticking my tongue out, I caught the bitter taste of decay in the air. Magic was present. Had the patrol missed this, or was the spell recent?

“Oooooooooo… Oooooooo… Oooooooo,” I continued calling out, and there it was—a concealed witch, just a child, hidden two hundred and fifty feet away at the base of a giant oak tree.

Why was a child witch alone and concealed here?

My bones cracked painfully as I shifted back to human form, moving cautiously toward the little one. “Little one, are you hurt?” I asked, but there was no response. The boy lay still. I knelt beside him to check his pulse—it was faint. The smell confirmed it was a boy, no more than five or six years old. I opened his hand and found berries. I brought them closer to smell—sweet like honey… texture… ah yes, a baneberry. Poor kid must have eaten them, not realizing they were poisonous.

I couldn’t leave him here. I quickly tied his body to my back with some vines and shifted back into wolf form. Even though the vines squeezed uncomfortably, I pushed forward.

Twelve more miles in, I found what I expected—beasts and rogues. It was tempting to plow through them, but with the child on my back, I had to be careful. Navigating around them was challenging, but necessary.

As I neared the mountain's base, Draco linked with me, interrupting my focus. “Hey bro, where are you?”

“I needed some personal time after being hounded about my affairs,” I teased.

“That’s not funny,” he responded, sounding irritated.

“I’m just kidding. I do need some time, though. I’m running an errand for Dia. Can you cover for me?”

“Sure. What time will you be back?” Draco asked.

“I’m not sure, but hopefully before Rose’s date tonight. If I’m not back, don’t let her out of your sight, no matter what she says. Ask Dia to fill you in if I’m late,” I said seriously.

“Alright. Be safe, bro,” Draco linked back.

An hour later, I reached the mountain's base. The distance between the two pack towns was about three hours apart, but dodging so many obstacles had taken much longer. Now, I stood on the edge of town. Oddly, I sensed no witches or magic. Where had the boy come from?

I needed to rest and find medicine for him. “Oooooooo,” I chanted, searching for the old hospital. My heart ached as I crossed the ruins that had once been our home. The hospital, now overrun with magically enhanced plants, was in the middle of town. I shifted, laying the child on a mattress inside, and quickly found something to wear. It took me only fifteen minutes to administer an antidote. With that done, exhaustion hit me like a wall. Maybe a quick nap would help.

As soon as I sat down, my consciousness drifted. I found myself surrounded by midnight skies, stars twinkling overhead. Beneath my feet, the ground felt solid but unnaturally smooth. Am I dreaming?

“Of course, you’re dreaming,” a voice chuckled from behind me.

I turned to find Pedro standing there, his eyes gleaming.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I sighed, knowing that talking to your wolf was a rare occurrence—though Pedro was an exception. He had opinions, and he wasn’t shy about sharing them.

“Where should I start?” he asked, voice grating. “The child witch you rescued? Or perhaps the fact that you haven’t torn Smithy and Fredrick apart yet?”

“I think I’ll pass on your poor therapy sessions,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Be a good boy and let me sleep.”

Pedro growled. He hated it when I treated him like a pet. We stared at each other, tension hanging in the air like a thick fog.

“I’ve given you plenty of chances to do something, but you’re all talk lately,” Pedro muttered, his eyes flashing with anger. "You could’ve ripped them apart by now."

“I understand your rage,” I said, voice low but firm. “I feel it too. But the competition is coming. I’ll make sure they feel every ounce of our wrath then. Is that enough for you?”

Pedro growled deep in his throat, the sound vibrating through the dreamscape. “Only if you make them scream,” he finally conceded, his eyes gleaming with a savage hunger.

I nodded, knowing that I would do just that. The brothers had crossed the line too many times, and when the competition arrived, they would pay for their disrespect.

Pedro’s expression shifted slightly, his tone less aggressive but still intense. “You won’t find the necklace you’re looking for here,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. “The last time I sensed it was the day we relocated to the Shadow’s land.”

I froze. Back in the Shadow’s land? The necklace wasn’t just a symbol; it was Rose’s connection to her mother. I’d must find it for her.

“Good luck, foolish one,” Pedro sneered as he began to fade and merge back with me as one. The dream dissolved, leaving me sitting against the cold hospital wall. My heart raced with the weight of Pedro’s words. If the necklace was in the Shadow Pack’s territory, we needed information, and we would have limited time.

I stood up and glanced at the boy, who was still unconscious but stable. I couldn’t leave him here, but I needed to move quickly to find the journal and head back soon…What should I do?