Rose
It was well past midnight as we continued to scour the village and forests for survivors. Our Alpha was dead, our Luna was dead, our Beta was dead, our warriors were dead, mothers were dead, fathers were dead, children were dead.
Our pack was a husk of what it used to be. Just thinking of it made me want to sink into myself, shutting out the world. I was lucky. My friends and my parents were still alive. I had never been so glad my siblings had moved onto larger packs, anywhere but here.
When they found my dad, he had already started treating people. Most of the pack that was injured had burns, and luckily they were healing pretty quickly on their own. My arm was almost completely healed, most likely earning my first battle scar. An accomplishment that I had never expected to achieve.
The worst injuries obtained were of the warriors who protected the pack to the best of their abilities. Matt had some of the worse. The wounds on his back were definitely going to scar him. To the majority of the pack, Matt was stoic and unfazed. In the eyes of Harriet, he was a baby demanding her love and affection. To me, he was just Matt. I was proud of him, though. He was stepping up to be the beacon that our pack desperately needed.
The majority of the village had been devastated by the fires. My feet led me to the little gate in front of the house. I do not know what I was hoping for, but I know I was gutted.
My mom’s gardens, once lush and a tiny sliver of paradise was now encased in ash. I walked through the front garden, and every flower I brushed up against disintegrated before me like the hopes of my eighteenth birthday.
I looked up at my childhood home; the fire had licked the cerulean blue paint turning once a happy color into a dismal crust. The windows were shattered. The whole house was washed in the eerie light of the moon. I used to love being in the moonlight, but at this moment, it was tarnished. Stepping onto the porch, the wood began to creak and moan under my weight. I shouldered the front door open and choked on the stale smoke that still hung air.
Stepping into the house, I wandered around the bottom floor. My soul felt numb as my memories washed over me, knowing that I will never have the chance to create more here. The furniture was nothing but ash. Pipes falling from the ceiling. Holes in the walls. Chunks of the ceiling missing or hanging on by a thread.
I shook my head as if that would fix everything. I trailed my fingers along what was left of the stair railing as I ascended the stairs. How many times did I blissfully run down the stairs? How many times did I take this house for granted? My train of thought was snapped back to reality as the board I had just stepped on crumbled. I gulped as I jumped back to the previous step before inhaling, trying to pump myself up to continue. I quickly made my way up the stairs trying not to linger for too long on any of the steps.
My bedroom called to me. I knew it wouldn’t be the same. My heartbeat thudded in my ears with every stride. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to psych myself up. I inhaled deeply, knowing I would remember this smell for the rest of my life. I turned the knob and was immediately greeted with a soft breeze coming from the massive hole in my bedroom wall where I was serenaded just eighteen hours ago. My breathing hitched as my eyes drifted to my favorite part of my room, my books. My fingers grazed the spines of my barbecued books. I felt a single tear roll down my cheek as I bid farewell to a precious piece of me. When I looked around at my surroundings, everything hit me, and the grief of everything consumed me.
“Delilah….Run,” I whimpered to my wolf. She had kept her distance to let me process, but I needed her to take over. I needed her to take control. As soon as those two words left my lips, she took charge. The oversized jacket and basketball shorts I was wearing were instantly shredded. A howl escaped our lips that rang out for miles. A cry of anguish.
After that, we ran. I don’t know for how long or how far we ran. Delilah let me curl up in the recesses of our consciousness. Eventually, Delilah spoke to me.
“It’s time to take back control, Rose. I can’t keep running for you.” With that, I shifted. The sun had already risen, acting as if the horrors of the night had never happened. I looked around, trying to get my barrings of where Delilah had taken us. My ears perked up as I heard water flowing, and I knew where she had brought me.
“Thank you,” I hoarsely whispered to her. I followed the sound of the water to my creek. At this moment, it was the safe haven I craved and needed the most.
MattI placed the call into the council around three in the morning. Silver Crescent had been attacked. I kept repeating it to myself. Trying to get it to sink in but desperately hoping it’s just a sick joke. There was no one else to do it. After the disastrous events of the night, everyone was a shell of their previous self. Heck, so was I. My dad died in the battle. He died protecting the people he loved, the pack he cherished. I’m proud to be his son, and I know he would have been proud of me for taking out the scum who killed Alpha Dane. I wish I could have killed them all. To take their lives, they took my only family member away from me. I was alone.After midnight some of the men and I had taken care of the bodies of the rogues. We loaded trucks and dumped them outside our territory off the side of the mountain into a rocky ravine. They did not deserve any more than that. Anyone who was injured was with Rose’s dad. Heather had woken up, but Harriet i
Unknown Alpha Alastor walked out of my office and closed the doors. I leaned back in my chair with my eyes closed. When was the last time a pack was hit this hard? When werewolves were not in a pack and let their wolves take over for too long, they became feral. Unfortunately, in the mountains, there were more feral rogues than regular rogues. The gift and curses of nature. The danger hiding behind the beauty. Why the fire, though? I would get to the bottom of this. One way or another. Standing up from my desk, I made my way out of my office and down the long corridor. I passed a few of the early riser members of my pack, only giving nods as the only form of acknowledgment. The quicker I left, the faster I could get there. Time was of the essence. I padded down the steps of my packhouse.“The cars are ready to go, Alpha.” Alastor walked up to me. “We are taking twenty warriors with us. We will be spre
RoseOne of the surviving elders, with the assistance of Matt, performed the ceremony. It was short, but it echoed in all of our hearts. We had a graveyard, but it was not large enough to accommodate everyone we lost. The new cemetery was now where one of our flower and herb gardens used to be. It was the only place that had enough space and was not on top of the village. One by one, we walked by, each one saying goodbye and thanking them for their contribution to our pack. My dad, Matt, Harriet, a few warriors, and a couple of regular pack members covered each body with my dirt as the last pack members said goodbye to them. My mom trailed behind, placing wildflowers on each of the graves. Heather stood beside me with her finger intertwined with mine while we watched the depressing repetition. She squeezed my hand and pulled me to walk away. I let her lead me. I knew she wanted to get away from there. After all, she could have died and then been buried in that field i
Unknown AlphaTen minutes to the border. Nine minutes. Eight minutes. Seven minutes. Six minutes. Five minutes. That’s when the sweet smell of peonies and peppercorn wafted towards me. My wolf, Zeus, stirred inside of me, trying to urge me to hunt down the delicious aroma of innocence. I resisted him and ran the perimeter of Silver Crescent before doubling back towards the only road that led into the pack.I sighed in relief; there were no signs of any other packs yet. My sleek silver body weaved in and out of the trees, purposely grazing against them so my scent would put off any smaller packs from coming to play. I’m not a ruthless Alpha by any means, but I believe in tough love. My pack has grown more robust in the six years since I ascended. They never worried about our pack’s safety. They knew I would protect them no matter how much blood I spilled, regardless if it was my blood or the enemy’s blood.Peonies and peppercorn found me again. Teasing my senses
Unknown AlphaI was pacing the border of Silver Crescent in my wolf form, trying to focus on why I came ahead of my pack. However, after watching over my mate, my mind became foggy. All I wanted to do was reveal myself, but I knew this was best for her. I was wandering close to the southern border, trying to force myself to focus on the task at paw. Trying to put me in the mind of a rogue. The forest was pretty dense here. Not a whole lot of clearings. It would make it harder to be spotted.Clearly, it was planned for the night of the Starlight Carnival. They picked the perfect night. The majority of the pack would be wrapped up in the Carnival, not even considering an attack as a possibility. This pack was an easy target. Honestly, I could see a couple of Alphas I know to prey on a pack like this. Certain wolves were just powerful and bloodthirsty. They gave other werewolves, especially, Alphas a lousy reputation. I refused to be like them.I started the head back
RoseThe world snapped back into focus, and I became very aware of people gawking at us. I nervously chewed on my lip, trying to figure out what to say or do. He seemed completely comfortable around me, but like he was giving me a chance to say something.“Say something to him already!” Delilah hissed.“I’m Rose,” I said to my mate. I was dying inside. Why was I so awkward? Could I not say anything better than that. I was caught in my own internal turmoil of what an idiot I was when he spoke and interrupted it.“My name is Orion.” His voice hit all the notes. It was silky, but at the same time, it has a bit of leg clenching gravel. I felt my cheeks turning pink.“Uh, and what are you doing here?” I questioned him, and I saw his eyes flash a little bit. What did that mean? Was he disappointed in having me as a mate? He was so gorgeous. “Shut up. Stop overanalyzing and jumping to the worst conclusions. Pretend that you are in one of your book
HarrietWhen we came upon Alpha Orion, it was entirely by accident. There he was, a beefcake perusing down our road with an air that was suffocating. We were on our way to do our first patrol since the attack.We couldn’t even mind link now that Alpha Dane was dead. Matt just felt like we should be doing a sweep, and I was hoping nothing would happen.Of course, we found him. It was one of the most uncomfortable moments in my life, only when my mom walked in on Matt and me for the first time; we had sex in my room coming in second. Damn, I would instead go back in time. My mom was furious, but at least I knew she wouldn’t snap my neck. Unfortunately, I did not have that guarantee with the Alpha.I watched my best friend walk away with her mate while I was left to deal with the ‘baby Beta.’ He was acting like a baby. Anger sliced at my insides; I felt like I was going to spew venom. I snatched his wrist before dragging him behind me in raging silence. I re
OrionI grasped her precious little hand in mine. So delicate, I was scared to squeeze too hard, to push her too far. I let her lead me; I wanted her to know I would not go overpower her. It would be give and take between us, no matter how fate led to our meeting. I could efficiently run her over, but I would never want to do that. I was going to make sure she knew I valued her. In the small amount of time since I discovered her, I was tethered to her.She led the way back through the burned villages. Once we were about to come into view of the square, I gently tugged on her hand. She turned towards me, looking confused. I stroked her cheek and placed a sweet peck on her lips.“Sorry. Couldn’t resist.” I sheepishly grinned as a faint pink painted her cheeks. “Lead on, Rose.” Rose smiled bashfully before she started forward again, and I really wanted to go back to our own little world away from the reality we were talking into. Silently counting my footst