The Alpha's Battle

The Silent Goodbye

Macie glared into the golden eyes of the white wolf. There was blood dripping from his fangs and where the eight-foot Rogue tore into his shoulder. The white wolf was a terrifying sight, but Macie was still too mad to care. The moment she heard his deep voice echo within her head, there was only one man with that voice. Draven Callaway.

Macie didn't know Draven was a werewolf or why she could hear him inside her head but she knew so much more about the asshole standing in front of her. Macie knew oh too well from school. It was a small school, but he never noticed her because he was always pushing to be in the better crowds while she stayed behind, trying her best not to be seen by anyone. She hated the attention even if her father was a governor.

Draven left school to become one of the Valquerian's guards at sixteen years of age. In her town, Draven's parents would not argue over someone at sixteen joining the guards because it was the only chance the family had to bring in particular goods for being a part of the Valquerian's group. 

Macie also knew he was part of the crew that would knock on the doors and remove the unnecessary people from the town. She saw him when she was darting off into the woods. She ducked behind a huge oak tree and watched while he and a few others approached the door. They all wore black from head to toe, and a brown leather vest with a V engraved across the chest. Some wore black boots, and some wore brown. Draven wanted all black from head to toe. She figured it went well with his spiked black hair. 

She watched in fear as his knuckles rasped on the white wooden door. No one came at first, so he tried again only louder. Macie's mouth ran dry, hoping against all the odds the door would not open. Draven's ran his hand through the side of his black hair while two other men approached behind him.

"Is there a problem with this resident, Callaway?" A plump guard with red hair chewed on tobacco and asked.

"He isn't answering the door," Draven said in a cold tone. "Maybe he is not home."

"He is home. He is just hiding like the coward that he is." The guard spits the tobacco by Draven's boot and looks him up and down.

"What do you want me to do? Knock the door down?" Draven asks, almost sounding confused.

"The very fact that I need to answer that for you is bullshit, son. You better start pulling your worth with us, or you can forget your title and go back home." 

Draven arched his back. His height seemed to grow two more feet that day as he stared the guard down and warned through his clamped teeth. "I will do whatever it takes. I wanted to make sure it was necessary first."

Draven whipped around with his fist clenched by his side, and all Macie could do was silently watch because she knew they outnumbered her. "No," she whispered to herself. "Please don't be at home. Be gone. Be...anywhere...anywhere but here."

A single tear slid down her cheek as Draven reared back his large black leather boot and kicked the door down the first try. The men fumbled in shock. They were not expecting such strength from the teenage boy. Draven's chest heaved in and out as he stomped over the broken door with a new sense of determination. Another tear fell down Macie's burning cheek. She pressed her body against the oak tree and waited against all hope. 

Moments passed for what seemed like an eternity before she heard the dreadful sound of Draven dragging something out the door. Macie shouldn't have looked, but it was her best friend. Macie's heart was crushed, but for some reason, her brain could not accept the truth of what was going on. Macie slid her body around the tree and poked her head to the side. Dangling dead by the wrist, was Phillip, her best friend no more. 

Macie gasped when a horse carriage came out of nowhere. Two white horses were bigger than she ever saw her entire life glistened against the morning sun. Their hair flew gently in the breeze as they bobbed their heads up and down. A door opened, but it was dark and shadowed. Macy could not see who it was. They only carried a long silver cane.

Draven dragged Phillip to the steps, and the men thrust him inside. The plump guard nodded, and the horses immediately galloped away. That was the last she saw her best friend again. It f*****g sucked too.  Phillip just told her and her father this morning that he and her sister were expecting their first baby.

Macie covered her mouth as she watched the carriage disappear in the distance. She couldn't take it anymore, so she ran and ran away until the pain settled down. Macie had never felt so much hatred for the Valquerians, but for Draven Hallaway, the emotions ran far more in-depth.

She sat by the creek imagining ways of seeking revenge against the murderer of her best friend and father of her sister's child. She thought of the regret that she should have yelled out and said something, anything but she didn't...she just watched like a fool. Macie let fear decide the fate of her best friend. 

"I'm such a fool...such a damn fool." She cried for hours. "Why didn't I help him? Why!"

The morning, afternoon, and night passed. The warmth disappeared and Macie became cold. She knew it was time to return home, even if it meant she knew for the rest of her life she would be alone.

Goodbye, Phillip...

She gathered a handful of rocks and threw them as far as she could, releasing all the anger and rage she felt before her insides finally went numb.

"I will never forgive you, Draven Hallaway. Never."