The Alpha, and His Kitsune Mate

Chapter 2 Raven

Exhaustion was all she felt. Every part of her body ached from running far away from her den with her brothers right beside her. They had gotten very fast and had a head start before their father figured out they had escaped with their mother's help. Tears rolled down her cheeks thinking of her mother, but she quickly pushed that down deep. There was nothing she could do for her now.

She made a promise to keep her brothers safe, and she would stop at nothing at all to keep that promise. They would run for as long as they could, and then walk until they felt like they could run again. They would take five minutes to stop whenever they came across a stream to drink from. They had to escape. They needed to get as far away from their pack as possible. She couldn't let the Alpha of her pack catch them.

Raven, seeing another stream up ahead, stopped the boys right by it. She was the eldest at seventeen, her birthday a week away. She was dreading it. It would be the happiest day. She would get her Kitsune, and she was eager to get it. Despite that, with her being forced to marry the Alpha once she turned eighteen, she soon dreaded it. Her mother was a healer, and they suspected she would be one too. It was very rare to have a healer, and it was not uncommon for most to keep their gifts a secret.

She took a look around, and then glanced at her brothers Kai and Koe. "Let's rest here for a bit. We have been running all night and most of the day." They kept to the forest away from any of the nearby packs. If they felt they were getting to a pack's border, they would quickly change direction. "We should be fine here for a bit." She walked over to the stream, kneeling down to scoop water into her hands to take a drink.

Kai stepped up beside her repeating the action, and then looked at her. "Where are we going, Raven? What are we going to do?" He watched his brother join him, and then looked at his sister. She pulled them over, hugging them tightly and placing a kiss on their heads. "We will figure it out. I promise I will keep you safe at any cost."

She heard a branch break behind them and turned quickly to take a look. Seeing a squirrel, she sighed in relief. "Perhaps we can find another den that will give us sanctuary, or maybe even another pack will take us in. We just need to get as far away from our den as possible." She turned back to look at their tired faces with a soft frown. "Why don't I find you guys somewhere to sleep for a little bit? We are far away enough. We can take another break."

Koe looked at his brother and then at her, shaking his head. " I think we should keep going, Raven. I don't want them to catch up and capture us any more than you do. I don't even want to think about how much punishment we will get if we get caught. Let's keep going, I would rather be safe then sorry. " He looked at his brother and Kai nodded. "Keep moving, and hopefully we will find somewhere safe soon."

"Okay, only if you both insist." She stood up, holding out her hands to them. They each took one, and she helped them up. "How about we walk for a little bit to catch our breath first. At least we can actually see them out here now." She frowned as she began walking with them. It had been so dark last night that they could barely see. They kept running despite running into several trees, and none of them had their Kitsune to help with their sight.

Her brothers were two years younger than her. They were almost identical. They had long hair and blue eyes. Kai had silver hair like their father, but Koe had black hair like their mother. Her brothers were well-built despite their young age, because their father had trained them constantly. He wanted them to be the best of the best. However, their features resembled their mother more than anything. Their father was cruel, and they were glad they all resembled their mother more than him.

For the most part, unless they had to, they kept in rogue territory, not wanting to be caught by another Alpha of a pack or a den, and being forced to return to their den. She shuddered just thinking about returning, never wanting to go back there, she would rather die than go back there. It would be a fate worse than death if they had to go back to their den.

She listened to her brothers' stomachs growl with hunger, and immediately felt guilty that they had run so fast they couldn't take anything. She hadn't even so much as seen a fruit tree or bush on their journey, not that they would have seen it in the night. It was now mid-afternoon, and they were starving. She chuckled softly, looking at her brothers. "I'm so hungry that I could eat one of Dad's sandwiches right now."

Kai bust out laughing. "Remember when he tried to make grilled cheese, and set the kitchen on fire?" He frowned suddenly. "Mom was so mad he made her clean up the mess, and then..." He bit his lip, shaking his head. His eyes started to get misty, and there was a far off look on his face. They all already missed their mother, and were worried about her.

Raven gave his hand a hard squeeze. She knew what he was going to say. Their mother was abused often. "I am sure she'll be fine. Mom's a fighter, and..." She heard the sounds of thundering of paws quickly pushing both her brothers behind her as a wolf approached. Her eyes widened in fear. This was by far the biggest wolf she had ever seen with its gray fur and brown eyes. "Nice puppy, please don't eat us. Please."

Koe squeezed her hand hard. "Raven, that is not a puppy! He's not going to listen to you! Let's just make a run for it! Climb a tree?" She turned her head, looking at her brother. " What if we throw a rock or something at it? Scare it off maybe?"

She heard a husky voice break the silence in the air. " I wouldn't recommend that, Miss. I would prefer not to take a hit, but I am quite fast, and you have trespassed onto our pack. " She turned her head back to see a naked man, not a wolf standing before her, startled." This is the Red River pack. You don't smell like wolves. You are also very young. What are you doing on our borders?"

Raven looked back at her brothers. Should she trust this wolf? What if they just sent her back to her den? She had to protect her brothers at all costs. She squeezed both of her brothers' hands hard.