The Alpha’s Raptor

Chapter Eight

I rolled over and opened my eyes, feeling wide awake due to my raptor's pacing and eagerness to be let out. This is the longest either of us have gone without shifting and it's driving her insane being detained.

'Let's go! Hurry, hurry, hurry!' She chittered, giving me the instant strength I never usually have in the mornings.

I rolled my eyes at her, sliding off the bed and heading for the door before coming to a halt in realization. Damon sent Lucas to guard. I can't walk out the door or he will surely question me, if not follow, or even both.

'Jump out the window! I'll protect you from the fall!' She cawed excitedly and I strolled over to the window, looking down at the ground to ensure the coast was clear.

I don't know... someone might see.

'I'm too fast! By the time they look, we'll be long out of their sight!'

Alright... I'm trusting you not to kill us.

Opening the window, I dangled myself over the sill and pushed off. My body soared to the ground but before I landed, Harley did as promised and forced me to shift, taking complete control.

Harley's POV (Raptor form)

The second my feet hit the ground I took off like a bullet, weaving through trees and jumping over bushes. Everything passed in a flash as I hit top speed, jumping over a river and running up to the clearing in the distance.

I skid to a halt, raising on my hind legs to meet my full height as I peered down the massive hill in astonishment. The field of tall grass looked to go on forever and my legs begged to dash straight through it to see if it ever ended. The wind made the grass sway and the sun colored it a beautiful gold. The sky lit bright pink and I threw my head back with multiple caws, turning to find another path to go but my body froze mid step.

A mid-sized wolf stood behind me snarling. It had chocolate eyes and I hissed, flashing my teeth at the tiny pup to show I will tear it to shreds in an instant. My slit pupils narrowed and I felt the quills all down my head, neck, and spine raise.

The wolf barked then pounced. I slashed its entire underbelly with my four inch talons, sending him slamming into the tree right next to the drop of the hill with a loud whimper.

I lowered to all fours and charged, opening my jaws to rip his head from its place on his neck until something knocked into the side of my face and I stumbled in surprise. My head whipped to the culprit ready to rip the limbs from their body but I froze once more.

My eyes locked onto a familiar white and black wolf and my pupils dilated back to normal. My anger disappeared and I lowered myself to his level, taking slow steps toward him in awe by his appearance. Blaze is pretty.

A sharp pain in my side made me realize it was a mistake to let down my guard. My head spun to see the wolf I injured hanging onto my side with his claws embedding into me. I felt my anger return and grabbed him with my jaws, ripping him off and slamming him into the ground.

I caught a glimpse of my side and hissed, seeing four sets of deep scratches running down my ribs with lots of blood. My attention turned back to the wolves and I saw two more walk out from behind bushes. My gaze darted to each one before landing on Blaze, only then realizing this wasn't Blaze. It's Damon.

He must've blocked Blaze out, otherwise he would've pushed through and helped me.

I can't hurt an Alpha, much less an Alpha with reinforcements.

So I did what I vowed to never do.

I turned and bolted down the hill in retreat, lowering on all fours to hide beneath the long blades of grass as I sprinted through the never ending field. I made a sharp right to lose them, pushing myself to my limits but quickly regretting that choice.

My body found another ledge and I didn't have time to stop before slipping right over, thrashing my arms and legs around with loud caws. It wasn't long until my body hit water and I struggled to stay up, clawing at the liquid only to sink, reminding me of my inability to swim.

I surfaced with a loud caw before being dragged under again, digging my talons into the mud on the side of the rushing river but the current made it impossible to pull myself up. It yanked the mud out right with my claws.

My body slammed into a rock and I hissed, clinging to the stone and struggling to hoist myself above the surface. My hands slid multiple times before I managed to get halfway up, my eyes instantly landing on the Alpha only to realize it was now Blaze in control.

He stood next to the edge and sniffed, leaning over the water inches away from me and whining. His eyes shifted to my arm then back to mine, 'grab me.'

I hissed, 'I'm too heavy! You'll fall in!'

'I won't let you drown!' He snarled, a bit of his Alpha voice leaked through and I couldn't force myself to argue anymore, 'Harley, please, at least trust me on this!'

I hesitated, reaching my hand out to him and he lowered his head indicating I grab his neck. Snarling, I pulled back and hissed at him, 'I won't! My talons are too sharp and I'll cut you!'

'I'm not leaving you here! So you better grab me or I'll jump in and grab you myself!'

Clenching my eyes closed, I threw my hand to his neck and grabbed him. He yanked me and I felt my body pull through the water before reaching solid ground, that's when I opened my eyes and retracted my hand quickly.

He was standing next to me, unharmed, and sniffing intensely. I laid in the grass feeling too drained to use my muscles, letting him stalk around my body and investigate me with his nose.

'If you would've let me tell Damon, this never would've happened,' he remarked snidely, coming to a stop next to my injury and giving that area extra sniffing.

'No! It's too dangerous,' I breathed, closing my eyes and slowly recovering from my near death experience.

Suddenly, I felt his warm tongue over my wounds and I jumped up, turning to face him on all fours with narrowed eyes, 'what the hell do you think you're doing? I'm not a f*****g chicken dinner.'

'Healing you. Stop being so damn paranoid!' He growled, using a tone I've never heard him use before and to say it made me aroused would be an understatement, 'we can rest for a minute, then I'm taking you back to my humans room.'

He then turned and walked away, circling a spot about twenty feet away and laying with his back to me. I chittered lowly in guilt, feeling terrible that he just risked his life to save mine and I'm being extremely ungrateful.

Standing, I slowly walked over and circled him, frowning when he closed his eyes to ignore me. I then laid behind him, curling my massive body around his large one and wrapping my arm over him. His tense muscles began to ease and I laid my head next to his, turning it just enough for the tips of our muzzles to touch. An approving chitter rippled up my throat and he purred in response, nudging his body into mine and leaving one last lick on the side of my snout.

'Thank you for helping,' I spoke up, a strange feeling heated in me at my words and I suddenly felt shy. He lifted his head and turned to stare, his ears sticking higher than before.

'Don't thank me, Harley, that's just what mates do for each other,' he responded and I lifted my head also, turning it to face him straight on with only the sound of the rushing river next to us.

I went to reply but thought against it, watching him lower his head back down and I copied with many racing thoughts. He adjusted his paw and my eye shot to his movement, seeing it slip beneath my large, rough hand giving me foreign feelings in my chest.

What are these feelings?

Why do I want to stay here like this?

Why am I letting him continue infecting me?

Why do I like it?

Jumping up, I hissed at the wolf laying on the ground looking at me in surprise before running back toward the pack. It didn't take me long so when I got close enough, I shifted back into human form and walked the rest of the way.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it more than five feet until my body was slammed into the nearest tree by Blaze. I glanced down and spotted shorts on his lower half, quickly reconnecting our gazes with zero emotion displayed on my features.

He looked angry, tightening his hold on my throat and lowering his lips to my ear with a deadly growl.

"Just remember, you're only alive because of me," he whispered harshly, leaning back, shoving a random t-shirt into my hands, then walking the rest of the way to the house.

I stood there dumbfounded, looking down at the shirt then sliding it on still trying to recover from what just happened.

Oh Sylvia... you're not the only one falling for the Alpha.