The Rise of the Alpha

09

On and on, I ran through the rain after the action, literally smelling the trouble all the while. Before long, I picked up on the sounds of rustling and growling and snapping of powerful jaws, pushing me to quicken my pace a bit. Out of nowhere, though (or so it seemed), a foreign, ear-splitting howl sounded above the calamity, making me skid to a halt right where I was; I didn't recognize that particular howl, and the only thing that came to mind in that very moment was one word – rogue.

Nervous but putting on the bravest front I could muster, I pressed forward…only I did so at slightly-slower pace in favor of being a bit more aware of my surroundings. That all changed, however, the instant a deafening howl ripped from mother, and boy, did she sound p.issed! Full of determination, I tried to mindlink both her and my dad, but yet again, they had their mental blocks up, and I just didn't understand why! I tried linking my uncle, too, but it hit a wall in his mind as well. Why was no one answering me?! Annoyed, I crept along until my heightened sniffer picked up the telltale signs of a brawl, but hey – if it was a fight those damned rogues were looking for, then I was about to come in hot!

The more ground I covered, the stronger my anxiety grew, ultimately washing over me. I had gone from carelessly booking it toward the action to stealthily creeping along, wholly determined to be the true definition of an element of surprise for both my parents and our foes. I'd be kicking a.sses and taking names afterward, alright, but for the time being, it really did make more sense for me to scope out the scene before making any rash moves.

Keeping a decent amount of distance between the action and myself, I crouched low to the ground like my dad had taught me to many years ago, prowling ever so slowly nearer and noting the positions of the good guys amongst the rottens to the best of my ability, considering the now-steady rainfall. To my expectation, my parents and the others appeared to have things under control, so because of not only that but also that glaring elephant in the forest s.creaming that I was not supposed to have f.ollowed them there, I kept myself unseen, figuring I'd just make a move when the need came about.

Soaked and in tense silence, I watched and waited and cheered on my strong, ever-ready people. My mother's and father's magnificent wolves fought alongside one another; while one would pin down whichever scoundrel dared get too close, the other would sink their unforgiving teeth into him, and their men handled the others around them as they saw them coming. I tried to link my uncle again along with Silas, both of whom I had specifically seen darting into the night after the crowd yet had not seen hide nor hair of since. Surprise, surprise – the men still had their blocks in place!

Man, what is it with these adults and their mental fuckin' blocks?! Chloe huffed, irritated with the grown-ups we were closest to in life. Don't they realize their pack needs to be in the loop in case anything goes amiss?!

In total yet silent agreement with her, I stayed low to the ground, however out of seemingly nowhere, the smell of rogue filth grew exponentially stronger, for a few more of them had suddenly leapt into the action and a.ttacked without mercy, coming to the other struggling rogues' aids and catching my parents somewhat off guard. Truth be known, I was confused as to what I was witnessing! Rogues were supposed to be just rumors and whatnot! In those moments, though, the time to think existed not, for I couldn't just lay idly by and watch my family and our men get taken down by a bunch of losers. I had to bust a move!

Staying as quiet as a mouse and dangerously low to the ground, I crept toward the awful scene ahead of me, then with a few final, ultra-stealthy steps, I closed in on the chaos while still keeping myself partially hidden not only by the foliage, but also by the downpour.

Suddenly, one of the rotten rogues latched onto my mother's head, and she howled in immense pain, the likes of which coaxed me from my hiding place and sent my glowering, adrenaline-fueled self into a rampage right then and there. I pummeled right into the first foe in sight, snapping my jaws around his hind leg and casting him roughly aside like he was yesterday's stinkin'-ass garbage. Another rogue came at me and snapped at my left shoulder, missing me entirely and smashing his face into the wet ground beneath us. I handled him the way I handled the previous one, only I latched onto his front leg instead of one of the hinds.

Goddess, Leila … WHY?! growled Mom in unmistakable anger. WHY did you f.ollow us here?! We told you to stay put for a f.ucking reason! Now, we risk losing you, too! She was absolutely livid with me, and I knew right then that I'd be getting an earful from her about this whole stunt when all was said and done.

No sooner than her thoughts manifested, a larger, much burlier wolf – larger than the other ones by a long shot, that is – pounced out of what I considered to be nowhere, his sight set directly upon my dad who unfortunately had his back turned to him. Sinking his canines into Dad's neck, the muscular rogue shook him mercilessly like it was toying with an old, stained-up rag doll or something, causing a howl of sheer agony to rip forth from Dad's chest. Then, Dad was sent flying through the air and eventually crashed into the ground with a hard, audible, painful-sounding THUD. It was dreadful to hear and even worse to bear witness to, and the intensity of it all had me fearing for my dad's mortality!

Downright p.issed, I let loose a low, threatening growl then lunged for the a.ttacker, giving my absolute all to put an end to his miserable existence. He dodged me effortlessly, of course, sending me skidding forward face-first on the wet ground for several painful yards. Like a breath of fresh air, Silas came hurdling over my body and leaped into the action, ultimately losing his life due to that burly rogue's own speedy interference. In all of this, I glanced at my mother and saw not only the fear in her beautiful, honey-colored eyes, but also the blood leaking from atop her head.

For f**k's sake, both of them are hurt! Chloe wailed, then without giving it another thought, I crept toward my dad to examine his wounds, which were nothing short of horrendous. He was bleeding so freely that I didn't understand how he was still conscious!

Leila..., he finally mustered a weak mindlink, protect your mother ... and yourself. I love the both of you dearly.

NO!!! I screeched internally, pawing at him as if doing so would give him a boost of encouragement to get back up and fight. Those better not be your last words, old man...

It was useless, for he slipped away mere moments later, effectively ripping my heart straight out of my chest. I howled in unmitigated disbelief, prompting the few live and remaining men we had to double down on the fight. While they squared off against Mr. Burly Wolf and the others, I rushed to my mother's aid and began fighting alongside her. Tufts of fur and bloody paw prints littered the ground, not to mention there were trails upon smeared blood trails where fighters would crawl away only to collapse and succumb. The whole scene broke my heart into a million pieces!

My poor, poor mother! A portion of her scalp had been ripped off and was dangling loose, but the rate at which she was losing blood was the more pressing issue at the moment; she was in, by all accounts, no physical shape to be fighting for her life, let alone mine! While tending to her as best as I could, my eyes bore deeply into hers in desperate attempt to communicate how regretful I was for everything that had gone down, and right around then is when I finally spotted my uncle rushing toward us from the sidelines.

Leila, look out! he shouted via mindlink, for much, much more quickly than I could have possibly processed, a large and jagged set of teeth tore into the flesh on my backside, sending intense jolts of radiating pain coursing through my shocked body. Simultaneously with the pain, I howled at the top of my lungs and rose up on my hind legs, snapping my head around in time to see no other wolf in sight except for Mr. Burly…and he was charging directly for my mother and me!

Bring it on, you foul-smelling b.itch! Chloe mentally dared the b.astard, but mere milliseconds before the menacing wolf and I collided, my vision turned spotty and I swayed unsteadily on my paws then lost consciousness altogether, collapsing to the forest floor right alongside my mortally-wounded mom.