The Alpha’s Raptor

Chapter Nine

Sylvia's POV

"Lucas!" I heard Damon snarl from the bedroom followed by running footsteps and I froze, "where did my mate go? You were supposed to make sure she stayed in here resting! Go find her! Now! I have to see doctor Yuri about her malaise."

My heart clenched and I widened my eyes, running up the stairs and turning it into a walk as I entered the room.

"I was just getting a drink," I lied innocently, my eyes bouncing between the two as they looked up at me.

"You were supposed to rest and keep warm. Lucas could've gotten whatever you needed," Damon answered, his eyes narrowing and I frowned.

I need to stop him from seeing the doctor...

'Don't you dare!'

Ignoring her, I walked up to him and forced my arms around his body the way my parents used to do to me. He went tense and I closed my eyes, resting my face against his warm chest.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, hearing Harley growl at my apology but I ignored her again.

She doesn't want us bowing down to anyone, her pride is extremely excessive.

Though I'll admit, his body heat felt amazing and I didn't want to pull away. I know I'd never have the bravery to force myself on him again, however, I didn't like how close I was. The stance gave me mixed feelings altogether.

'We have him in a vulnerable position. I like it! I feel superior, just as it should be.' She yipped, her mood flipping completely as she did circles in my mind making me slightly dizzy.

"I will be right back, Syl, you need to lay down until we know what's going on. Is there anything else you need?" He asked much more gently, his hands finding my face to lift my head and I looked up to meet his gaze, flashing my best doe eyes and pushing out my bottom lip ever so slightly.

"You keep me warm. I feel better in your arms," I replied in a feigned tearful tone, watching his eyebrows upturn in a sad manner and a frown found his lips.

'Good goddess, you look so damn pathetic right now. This is embarrassing. Kill me.'

I'm trying to prevent our species from being exposed, sue me! I'm saving our lives here, so suck it up and accept we will be bowing for a while.

"Sylvia," he strained, caressing my cheek and analyzing my face, "I'm worried about you. You'll be okay for just a few minutes. I'll make it quick, okay?" He released me and walked passed, as he neared the door my panic shot through the roof.

Forgive me!

I ran after him, grabbing his arm right before he made it out the door and twisting him around using my raptor's strength, reaching to his face then pushing myself off the ground and pressing my lips to his.

He went tense but began relaxing almost immediately, his arms quickly wrapping around my waist and pulling my body into his. A loud coughing made him snap back to reality and break away, sending waves of anxiousness through me.

"Make sure she stays in bed this time," he breathed, his eyes drilling into Lucas' in a threatening way before he let me go and left.

I went to go after him but arms restrained me and Harley suddenly pushed through protectively, forcing me to whip around and knock his hands off. A crack came from his wrist and he retracted his hand in horror, looking down at his bruising wrist then up at me. He jumped back with a gasp, his eyes widening and I quickly turned my head to hide my shifting eyes.

"You're the raptor!" He exclaimed, angering Harley with his loud revelation and I felt her itching for control. She snarled, hissed, and growled, pacing near the edge of dominating me but I kept my focus on her.

If I acknowledged anything else while she's like this, I'd lose control and she'd kill every moving object in sight thinking it's alive.

"Please don't tell," I grunted, finally winning control against her and feeling normal once again. When I turned to face him, he took a step back with a flinch and guilt swarmed me.

I'm not evil.

I'm not a monster.

"We're just trying to survive," I exhaled, eying him pleadingly and he appeared skeptical, "if we meant harm, don't you think we would've attacked already? We've had multiple chances," I added, trying to convince him and he looked conflicted over my words.

"That'd be lying to Alpha Damon..." he trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing as he mumbled to himself, "but I'd be helping the Luna..." he ran his hands through his hair, gripping the strands and closing his eyes.

"Does my wolf get to play with her?" He asked, a bright gleam appeared in his eyes and Harley hissed.

'I'm not playing with a mutt.'

"Yes, he can!" I agreed, watching his expression lighten much more and Harley growled, throwing a miniature tantrum that I blocked out.

"That's amazing! He doesn't have friends, and for his first friend to be someone as cool as a raptor is awesome. Like I said before, we're not very liked among the pack. He's been lonely," he frowned, suddenly smiling again, "can we meet by the river when everyone goes to sleep? Shifted forms?"

I nodded and he suddenly wrapped me in a hug, making my raptor grow uneasy but I kept her controlled. She doesn't like anybody here, especially Lucas and Mandy after what they did.

"This explains a lot, actually," he put me down with a look of thought, his eyes scanning over my figure and I contained the urge to snap his neck. I knew it was Harley's feelings and not mine.

She's already exposed us enough, I can't let her continue her shenanigans before it gets us in serious trouble. I'm glad Lucas is desperate for friends, otherwise I'm sure we'd be screwed.

He suddenly zoned out, his expression falling and he released me before snapping back to reality, his eyes meeting mine with newly found worry.

"Damon's catching on," he widened his eyes, seeming more panicked than me and he's not the one at risk.

"How do you know?" I questioned, feeling Harley become very alert and my hairs stood as a wave of goosebumps crawled over my body.

"Your blood test. He said it's not showing anything wrong when he and doctor Yuri said your body temperature is too low, almost hypothermia level, but that's only if you were human..." he slowly realized, more stress finding his face and I quickly intervened before he gave himself an aneurism.

That's when a chorus of spaced out howls suddenly echoed from outside, alarming both me and Harley but Lucas froze as though he knew what was happening.

"We're being attacked," he panicked, "I need to go. Promise me you'll stay here, Damon will have my head if he sees you anywhere else!"

Before I could respond, he ran out and slammed the door behind him as if that'd really stop me from leaving. I rushed over to the window and looked out, catching multiple wolves ruthlessly tearing into each other. There was at least fifty down there.

Children's cries came from downstairs and I felt so helpless with a strange urge to protect this pack.

'He needs help!'

My eyes darted over the group, landing on Damon who was no longer black and white but black and red. His white fur was stained and he had a slight limp, although there were five dead wolves surrounding his panting figure.

Okay... so maybe that's hot.

My gaze caught movement and I looked up, spotting a wolf the same size as him charging right for him and panic consumed me. That's when I noticed a weird white foam around his lips and zero humanity behind his eyes, my body froze.

That's a rabid Alpha.

I remember killing his mate a few years ago but he was still functional... Is this what losing a mate does to a wolf?

"f**k, I can't believe I'm about to do this," I muttered, taking off the shirt and throwing myself out the window for the second time. I shifted with ease, landing directly in the center of the battlefield where nobody noticed my presence somehow.

I used that to my advantage, running over and shielding Damon just as the rabid wolf bit into my neck. Harley forced a loud, agonized squeal that escaped my throat making everyone freeze and look over.

I grabbed the wolf's jaws and pried them off, kicking the wolf into the side of the house with a loud whimper. The pain in my neck was intense but I ignored it, keeping my focus on the recovering Alpha and taking my protective stance in front of Damon.

The wolf charged again and I shielded him, ramming the wolf into a tree with a warning hiss before circling Damon to ensure he was protected from every angle at all cost. He was watching me with flattened ears, holding his injured paw up to his chest and looking at me with... fear?

He's afraid of me?

Come to think of it, everyone looks frozen in fear.

Why?

With as many wolves as there are, I'm weak in comparison.

I stood on my hind legs and snarled at the rabid Alpha, letting him pounce before wrapping my hand around his snout and breaking his neck in one swift motion. He hit the ground and I stood over him, hissing at the wolves ahead of me and watching many of them run off whimpering.

My urge to protect started fading and a light brown wolf walked up to me wagging his tail, instantly telling me this was Lucas. I lowered myself and cawed at him, patting his head carefully so my talons didn't cut into his flesh. He then barked, taking a step back and looking over at Damon. I copied.

Everyone watched stiffly as I walked over to their Alpha and he let out a low growl. I froze, cautiously moving my head to his and sensing the discomfort roll off him. His hackles raised and he snarled, baring his teeth in warning that I ignored.

I chittered calmly to show I'm not trying to harm him, slowly leaning down and sniffing his injured paw. He growled louder and stepped back.

I respected his warnings when the other wolves began snarling as well, making me move back and lower myself below him as form of submission. Harley didn't like my choice and fought me every step of the way. It was nearly impossible to do.

He stared down at me until his cold demeanor dropped and he put his paw down, stepping closer and sniffing my snout.

'Sylvia?'

I chittered in response, seeing a foreign emotion flash his eyes and he was silent for another long moment.

'You protected me,' he sounded shocked and I tilted my head, low gurgles rumbled my throat.

‘That’s just what mates do for each other.’