To the Devorare Pack

“That’s Alpha William!”

Ellie- fighting against the wave of exhaustion the moment she was saved from her execution- widened her eyes when she heard who her savior was. He who was none other than that injured, delusional werewolf she found in the woods. Well… She wasn’t sure if she could call him her savior now. Not if he’s really that Alpha William of the Devorare Pack.

The Devorare Pack is a pack consisting of the most vicious werewolves ever known. Any living being said to enter their sight will die in the most gruesome manner, be they prey, werewolf, or otherwise. Why, even the omega werewolves- normally incapable of combat and rather spend their days fooling around- can hold their own against other non-omegas, or so rumors say. And out of everyone in that pack, their Alpha is especially the most dangerous. He who is said to be most especially brutal and cruel to his enemies.

While she knew exactly who Alpha William and his pack were, Maddie was purely clueless, if her confused expression meant anything. Before she could open her mouth to speak, William scoffed. “Hmph. So you know of me. How flattering. Now, unless if you want to lose more members… Out of my way.”

Maddie glared at William’s threat. “You think you can come to another werewolf’s pack and make demands as you please…? Don’t make me laugh! Kill him! And Ellie, too!”

Aiden and Lila widened their eyes even more in bafflement at their daughter’s command. “Maddie, hold it! All of you, stop!”

Unfortunately, his order came too late, as a few werewolves rushed at William and Ellie. Despite wanting to fight back, the latter was far too weak from the mistreatment the past few days. The former, on the other hand, didn’t even sigh, as he easily avoided the assailants’ strikes and mercilessly killed them.

“This is the best the werewolves in this pack can do? Ridiculous,” he said. “Not even worth another second of my time.” Without another word, he left the area.

“Wha-?! Hey! Stop right there!” Maddie shouted, only for her shout to remain unheard.

Ellie, on the other hand, was panicking. She was getting taken away by the Alpha of the most dangerous pack! While she did not know why he rescued her, she could only hope whatever happens next would be better than getting executed by her ex-mate.

Still, she wondered why… For some reason, being in William’s arms like this- being close to him like so- set her mind at ease. So much so, her eyes grew heavy, and she fell into a state of unconsciousness.

******

After Ellie made her little escape the other day, William contemplated if he should chase after her. Mate she may be, he couldn’t help feel as though something was off about her, especially as she had two scents on her.

Once he took some time to think, along with being forced to hear some of complaining from Liam, William finally decided to head out and find Ellie. Luckily for him, he memorized the girl’s scents from their last encounter and got her location. Sadly, though he knew where she was- at her pack- he noticed the werewolves there were on a heavy lookout. Not only that, but he couldn’t seem to find her amongst them.

Although William could go down there and ‘ask’ these wolves where his mate was, it was risky for one werewolf to approach a pack outside his own, even for him. And so, he decided to stay back and wait for his mate to be out in the open.

Imagine his surprise when he saw Ellie walking out that night, injured and dragged to the plaza by these werewolves. The sight of her condition not only baffled William, but also enraged Liam.

‘What the hell…? What the hell do they think they’re doing to our mate?!’ the wolf demanded.

On instinct, William rushed towards the scene. Towards Ellie. There were many werewolves who tried to stop him, but he made quick works of them all. Not a shred of remorse was felt when he easily took their lives, not even when he took that one werewolf’s arm. Then again, how could he feel anything for them? This was a dog eat dog world, after all; only the strong survives. And the weak? They’re better off scuttling along the ground where they belong, out of sight.

And so, led to this current event; William running deep within the woods, getting as far away from Ellie’s pack as he could with the unconscious werewolf on his back.

‘Damn it… To think I’d go out of my way for this stranger,’ he thought. ‘Then again, I suppose I do owe her for saving me last time…’

He heard the girl moan lightly behind him and gently set her down on the ground. Fortunately for him, he was much faster than any average werewolf; he doubted there to be any pursuers nearby. “Hey. You okay?”

Ellie slowly opened her eyes at his voice, still feeling quite weak from all the pain she went through during her imprisonment.

“Well, if you’re well enough to move, you should be well enough to answer a few questions,” William simply stated. “Who are you? Why do you have two scents? I know what the scent of a werewolf in a relationship smells like, and yours in not that.”

Ellie didn’t answer him. She couldn’t answer. Not in the condition she was in. However, looking at this werewolf in front of her- this werewolf who saved her from execution- Ellie felt a bit of hope rushing through her. “Help…” she managed to say.

William scoffed at her plea. He may have saved her from death, but that didn’t mean he was going to help her any more than that.

‘William, we should take her back,’ Liam told the werewolf, much to his ire.

‘You are NOT telling me to take her there just because she’s our mate!’ William growled.

‘I am not saying that at all. If anything, I’m just as suspicious of her. Her scent is not natural for a werewolf.’

‘So now you see things my way… As I thought, she must be a member of that damn pack. Either that group earlier was a sister pack who caught wind of her failing her mission or some random party ‘they’ decided to target. And given how we’re already affected by that fake mate scent, she must’ve taken a gamble in us coming to her rescue, to try something on us again.’

‘So you say, but if that were true, she wouldn’t deny you when you tried to take her to our pack.’ William went silent when his wolf pointed that out. ‘Regardless, we can’t leave her here. Until we know the reason for her double scent, we should bring her back to the pack. With the state she’s in now, she can’t do anything to us.’

William narrowed his eyes at those words before looking back at Ellie. As his wolf said, with how injured she was- to the point where she’s barely staying conscious- the possibility of her doing anything was low. Besides, after he went through all that trouble to save her sorry butt, it would be a shame for her to die here. He might as well bring her to his pack after all.

“Fine…” he sighed. “Alright, you get your wish. I’ll help you out. However! That means going back to my pack, and following my rules. No exceptions.”

Ellie- still dazed from her condition- did not quite catch all of what he said, but upon hearing him say he’ll help her, she gave a weak nod.

“Alright, then. Let’s keep moving.” With that, William brought Ellie back on his back and resumed his run.

******

A couple days of travel later, with some breaks for sleep and meal in between, as well as using some herbs they found on the road for Ellie’s wounds, the pair finally arrived at William’s pack. Unlike the Hermit Pack living in the suburbs, William’s pack lived by a canyon, with plenty of sturdy houses set up all over, as opposed to the Hermit Pack’s wooden shacks.

“Hey. We’re here,” he nudged the resting werewolf.

Ellie stirred from her nap and was quite surprised by their destination. “Your pack… lives here?”

“Don’t be too impressed,” William grunted out. “Anyway, the rest of the way will be on foot. I much rather not cause a scene having you on my back.”

Ellie could somewhat understand what he meant. She was an outsider, after all. If William’s pack saw him return with a stray werewolf in her condition… Either they would think of him as weak to bring back a weakened werewolf, or turn on him like her former ‘pack mates’ did. Whichever the case, considering the sort of werewolf William was, he may turn his rage on her afterwards. Something she much rather not experience. Likewise, though, she was also quite surprised the guy was actually considerate about that last part. Then again, it could just be her.

Without another moment of delay, Ellie got off his back. Thankfully, she recovered enough to stand on her feet, and it did not look like the walk was that far. Safely on her feet, the two werewolves resumed their walk.

As they approached the pack, Ellie kept her gaze on the area, taking in the sights. While she was aware she wouldn’t be allowed to stay as a member, at the very least, she should be staying until she was fully recovered. Her savior wouldn’t have brought her here otherwise. She had to know what pack she’d be living in.

That said… Despite rumors about this pack, their home was quite clean and very peaceful. Honestly, the girl had a hard time believing where she was taken to.

The pair entered the pack. As they continued their walk, they began to get the attention of the many werewolves living there. No one greeted them nor approached; only stared. Ellie- frightened by the possibility of this pack being what she thought it to be- felt extremely nervous from all the stares.

Soon enough, one werewolf approached them, along with a few others behind him. The guy stood before William, causing the pair to come to a stop, and Ellie to look between the two werewolves in worry.

“… You’ve finally returned,” the werewolf said.

“As I’m sure it was to be expected. I am your Alpha, after all. Just as you are my Beta, Jen,” William answered, increasing Ellie’s anxiety, especially as the many werewolves around them began to bow before them. Before William.

“Welcome back, great Alpha William of the Devorare Pack,” they said in unison.

Ellie froze upon hearing those words from this pack’s many mouths. So William… really was the Alpha of this pack. What could he want with her, then? To save her from death and being her here.

Why… Why would he save her? It couldn’t be… because he believed in the mate bond?