Saving the Alpha of a Thousand Wolves

5. Hunter and Hunted

Vladimir Randall

Where are you, Helen? I asked the teen wolf through the mind link, trying as much as I could to sound calm. Letting my wolves know that I was distressed was never good for the pack, especially the young ones like Helen.

I thought of Morgan, attempting to locate his presence using our pack's shared connection, only to disappoint myself again. He was gone, for real. Not even the echoes of his voice remained. My heart clenched for Helen. Morgan was her destined soulmate, and I could not even begin to fathom the tremendous loss she must be enduring. Stay where you are. Find cover. We're coming to get you.

My words were met only by sobbing sounds, and that was enough for me as it meant Helen was still trying to fight. In a ripple of my fur, I shifted back to my human form, completely naked, standing under the shadows of Granville Forest's trees. The others with me did the same, completely unbothered that we were in our birthday suits in the middle of the woods. We were wolves, nudity wasn't a stranger to us.

"What are your orders, Alpha?" asked Santiago, his yellow eyes almost luminous under the shadows.

A grunt escaped my mouth. "Pyotr, return to the pack house and prepare a team to barricade the perimeter. I will be sending a message through the mind link to alert the others of your arrival and to call for reinforcements."

"Yes, Alpha."

"Go now."

The sound of breaking bones filled the silence as Pyotr shifted to his wolf form. With one huge bound, he launched himself toward the direction of the pack house and disappeared through the trees.

I turned my gaze to Santiago and Rascal. "We don't have time to waste. Let's go find Helen and hand these invaders their asses."

"Aye," said Rascal and my Beta at the same time. In a blur of rippling muscles, they both turned into their wolves. I let them go forward first as I sent a call to our pack. When my wolves back at home responded, I allowed the wolf rage to consume me. The transformation took over, and I couldn't help but sneak a glance at the moon-shaped mark just below my wrist before it disappeared under my fur. It reminded me of my soulmate. Unspeakable horror crawled under my skin at the thought of losing Greta. With all the will I had in me, I pushed the gruesome idea away.

My shifting took hold and I bolted through the trees, desperately trying to search for Helen's scent in the air. Once I caught it, I never let go and raced on to catch up with my Beta and my scout. We will find Helen. I am not going to lose another wolf tonight. Every member was family.

The pack is the wolf, and the wolf is the pack.

Granville Forest flew by in a blur of trees and shadows as I ran with all my speed. The moonlight weaved through the trees, painting an eerie light against the dense foliage. All around me, I could feel the presence of hundreds of eyes watching me from the darkness. It felt like I was being swallowed alive in some twisted fairytale nightmare.

Rage consumed me, wanting to exact vengeance on whatever had killed Morgan. My pack was my family and no one messed with them without having to answer for it. Determination fueled my every move and soon enough, I caught up with, and even outran, my Beta and Rascal. With a powerful howl, I sent a warning through the night air that I was coming for them, whoever they were.

The scent of Helen grew stronger as we continued in pursuit, her fear hanging heavily in the air like smoke from the birch trees surrounding us. Adrenaline raced through my veins as we got closer to her location. No matter what happened next, I would fight tooth and claw to protect her until she was safe within our pack once more.

Finally, the trees broke to reveal a small open field where Helen was hiding behind a huge boulder. With sure steps, I made my way to her. She was in her human form, naked, all covered in blood, and shaken to her core.

Gently, I poked her head with my muzzle, and she almost tore at me with her claws, screaming like the terrified girl that she was. My chest tightened at the sight of her.

Calm down, Helen. You're safe now.

The teen wolf looked up, hesitating at first. When she heard my voice through the link, her emotions subsided. "A-Alpha?" Her voice was weak, trembling like a struck guitar chord. Helen rose, her feet almost tripping over each other as she reached up to hug me. A terrible crying noise erupted from her throat as she leaned her head against my wolf mane. "He's gone, Sir... M-Morgan's gone. My Morgan..." The sobs that rocked her chest vibrated against my fur and at once, I felt her grief. "I... I d-don't know what to do."

Hush now, my child. Everything's going to be okay. I wished I had believed that. Losing a soulmate was the most terrible thing that could happen to a werewolf, and if I were being honest, I wouldn't know what I would do if it happened to me. You're safe now.

The sound of paws thudding made me look over my shoulder. Santiago and Rascal came into view, their eyes widening with concern as they saw Helen.

Bring her home, I told Rascal. He made a low bow as he approached us. Go on now, Helen. I will make them pay for what they did.

Helen sobbed, nodding her head. She was almost hesitant to let go of me, but then she turned and mounted Rascal's back in slow and shaky movements. I nodded at Rascal, and the wolf scout bolted as fast as he could back to the pack house.

I have caught their scent, Alpha. Santiago walked forward, his eyes looked determined, but I saw silent grief in them. What do we do?

We will find them and gut each one of them like fish.

Aren't we going to wait for reinforcements?

I let out an insistent growl at Santiago. No, I told him. We will meet them there.

Sí, Alpha.

Santiago and I bolted deeper into the forest, our paws pounding against the soft earth. He ran ahead, following the scent of the intruders that had attacked Helen. I trailed after him, my eyes looking forward with determination and rage coursing through my veins. Vengeance was mine to take and I vowed not to rest until Helen's attackers were brought to justice.

We're getting closer, Santiago hissed, and I could almost feel through the link that he said those words through gritted teeth. He sniffed at the air, trying to catch a stronger whiff of the culprits' scent.

I also took in a deep breath, catching a faint whiff of our enemies. The track indeed smelled of wolves, but there was another one mixed with it, but I could not quite place what it was. With a snarl, I picked up speed and ran faster at his side. The trees became thinner as we got closer to the edge of the forest and soon enough, Santiago made a sharp turn to his left and increased his pace even more.

The two of us were almost flying by now, each footstep taking us closer to our enemies. My fur stood on end as anticipation built inside me; soon enough, we would have them cornered and then they would regret ever having dared cross paths with me.

We stopped in our tracks, all alert and ready for anything. I scanned the surroundings with my eyes, looking for the enemies that had caused Helen so much anguish. My nostrils flared as I could almost smell their fear and taste their blood.

The air around us suddenly went strangely still, an obvious indicator that something was lurking in the shadows nearby. My heart raced as the anticipation of a fight started to fill me up. It was time to avenge Morgan and show his killers who they were messing with.

An inhuman roar burst from my throat as a massive creature launched itself out of the darkness, directly at me. Without a moment's thought, I reacted; my sharp fangs bared and claws extended, ready to battle the werewolf.

I engaged it head-on, not a single ounce of fear in my body. We clashed and clawed and snarled at each other with unbridled ferocity. My muscles bunched and tensed as I leapt and dodged its strikes, while my teeth gnashed and snapped in an effort to rip into its flesh. We flew through the air, fur scattering as we clashed together in a flurry of violence; our claws raking across each other's skin, soaking us both in crimson blood.

The feral beast and I lunged at each other with all our might, neither of us giving an inch. We clashed in a flurry of fur and claws and teeth, each instance of contact bringing new scrapes, gashes and bites to our skin. I could feel my blood singing in my veins as I fought without reservation or fear; it was absolutely exhilarating.

The air around us filled with the scent of fresh blood and the sound of snarls, roars, and screams ripped through the night. Every blow I landed sent shockwaves through me and adrenaline coursed through my veins like liquid fire. My muscles bunched and tensed as I leaped forward to bite down on its neck again, this time finally breaking it in two with a loud crack.

Just then, more wolves emerged from the shadows to join the fight. Two more werewolves merged to battle Santiago as three more launched themselves at me. My heart raced even faster but there was no fear or hesitation within me; only a pure primal instinct to stay alive by any means necessary that now took control over my body.

I dove forward beneath their outstretched arms before rolling back up onto my feet, claws extended and ready for anything else they threw at me. I pounced onto one wolf's back before sinking my teeth into its shoulder, shaking it from side to side viciously until it collapsed onto the ground in a heap of fur and bloodied flesh.

The wolves continued their onslaught, their sharp claws and teeth ready to rend me apart. I was nimble as I dodged their lightning-quick strikes, jumping up and away before somehow landing between them with a bellowing roar that could be heard for miles around. Their feral growls echoed around me as they paced, seeking to surround me and pin me down. But I focused on nothing but survival and fought back with a ferocity unmatched by any other living creature. I fended off each enemy in turn, rolling away from the teeth of one wolf and slashing the muzzle of the other with my claws in one majestic movement.

Vladimir! Santiago called out through the mind link.

I turned my head and saw that he was outnumbered. Six wolves were circling him, backing him into a corner. Then they all lunged at him at the same time. I screamed his name and charged forward, ripping the enemies from Santiago with my teeth and claws as I fought tooth and nail to protect him.

Juan! I screamed through the link and charged forward, ripping the enemies away from him with my teeth and claws. One by one, their bodies thudded to the ground as I flung them aside like ragdolls, not leaving any of them alive. But before I could kill the last one, a massive shadowed form swooped out of nowhere and snatched him away, running into the darkness with incredible speed.

It was huge, its physique implausible in size, and Santiago was like a tiny kitten cradled within its powerful arms. Even from afar, I could feel the power emanating from it and I cast my gaze upward to try to make out what exactly it was, but it was too far away for me to tell.

My heart pounded in my chest as I killed off the last werewolf before racing forward in hounding. I could see Santiago's form bouncing in the creature's grasp, and I tracked its movements with intense focus. But it was too fast for me, and soon it had disappeared into the night.

I ran and ran, following the scent of Santiago through the forest. I could feel the fatigue slowly settling in but I pushed past it, relentless in my pursuit. The night seemed to drag on forever, and it felt like I had been running for hours. But finally, I saw his form ahead of me and relief flooded me.

He was there, lying on the ground in his human form, naked, bloody and unconscious. I couldn't take my eyes off him as I padded up to him as silently as possible and nuzzled against his neck to see if he was still alive. He groaned softly in response and a wave of relief washed over me - he was alive!

But just before I could fully rejoice, an ominous sound echoed behind me. My head snapped around just in time to see the huge creature crouching by a nearby tree - one that definitely did not belong there - then with lightning speed, it pounced forward and bit down hard into my neck.

Pain exploded through me as its teeth sunk into my flesh and I felt a dizzying sensation overcoming me. My vision blurred at the edges, and then after a moment, everything went black.