The Human Alpha

Chapter Eleven. Burned

Chapter Eleven. Burned

Alpha Delicious point of view.

The thick smoke clouds my vision, as I scramble, coughing to the rear of the barn, with two buckets of water. The heat is almost unbearable, as sweat drips down my face. There is no saving the grain, or the barn, but still, I work tirelessly to douse the flames, before they spread to the dry straw, and cause a wildfire, even spreading to the pack house. My heart pounds in my chest, as the two giant buckets of water do little to beat the fire into a retreat.

Stinker is beside me, throwing his own buckets of water onto the flames, as Anna empties the last of the fire extinguishers into the burning barn.

The smell of singed skin begins to waft over me, and the pain in my arms is breathtaking, as I look down at the blisters and gnarled skin. Apollo is working overtime healing my skin, and I know once this fire is out, within the hour I will not have so much as a scar, but right at this moment in time, the pain is increasing, but still, I press on, determined to beat this fire that threatens not only my pack lands but other surrounding farms if we cannot contain it.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out this was no accidental fire. Clearly, some of the protesters have deliberately caused this. It is beyond stupidity. Whoever is responsible had little forethought for the sanctity of life or the fact that more than just the pack could be affected if left to spread.

The skin on my chest stings as yet another flame licks against it, as I am passed another giant bucket of water from Gillian, as Dave her mate passes one to Stinker, and together we throw the water hoping these buckets will make a difference. We have three lines going, mine, which consists of Gillian, and Jace my Gamma wolf who is running between the barn and the lake to refill the buckets, Stinker has Austin our head warrior doing the refill drills, with Dave handing him the buckets. Anna is running between the areas with the extinguishers, backed up by the warriors as some of the omegas play sand in a bid to stop the spread. We are a team, working together. Stinker had jumped into action the moment he realised there was a fire, and not for the first time showed his leadership qualities, and commitment to help the pack. It is like a flick switch in his brain, and I would like to study that facet of his personality more, and work out just who the man was before the rogue took over, but right now I have more important things on my mind. Apollo is tiring from using his healing abilities constantly, whilst boosting my energy. But still we press on as a team, not one of us complaining, just getting the job done. It is in moments like this that I realise how blessed I am to have such a unified pack, which makes me proud to be their Alpha.

As we continue to fight the fire, working like a well-oiled unit, I begin to smell something else, something nice, through the stench of the burning barn, and skin. It is a subtle smell, the highlight being my favourite smelling flower lavatera. It is a delicate bloom, but tough as hell, flowering the whole summer long, and is equally as comfortable in a border or in a field filled with wildflowers.

Apollo seems to have regained a little bit of strength and my burns are healing quicker than they were just five minutes ago.

.

Hannah’s Point of View.

Fucking hell! The flames of the fire in the barn across the field are lighting up the sky. The smell of burning invaded my nostrils.

I can hear the protesters up the lane, shouting over a bull horn, but some of them are arguing amongst themselves. What the hell have they done?

I can see the Wetwang pack members running drills to the small lake with buckets of water and passing them up the line, in a desperate bid to extinguish the fire.

Shit, I have to help. I run across the field, to see what I can do to help. Seeing that they have a line going, I think it might be better for me to head up the lane and confront these protesters. Have the ones who are against this action that somebody has taken come to help, I don’t profess to know anything about farming, but I do know about living in the countryside, and a fire like this can easily spread, putting more than just this pack in danger. I run up the lane as fast as I can, grateful that I managed to get a few training sessions in before coming here, because before returning home, I would have been breathless by the time I reach the gathered people. Thankfully I am not gasping for breath, so I will instantly be able to speak.

I stand in front of the gathered crowd, as a young man holds the bullhorn.

“LET IT BURN!” he is shouting repeatedly, some of the others are attempting to take the bullhorn from him, arguing that he is an i***t, and to get out of here.

I walk over, and with one swift movement, I take advantage of the ensuing argument, and grab the bullhorn, bringing it to my lips.

“STOP, JUST STOP!” I shout.

It is amazing because every single protester instantly goes quiet, and turns to look at me.

“There is a fire, right now, I do not give a rat's ass who started it, or the reason why you thought that was a good idea. The pack needs help to extinguish it. I know you are angry with things that have transpired, but if this fire spreads, it will affect more than this place. Fire is no respecter of a person, it doesn’t care if you are a werewolf or a human, all it wants is to destroy, and your homes, your fields and crops are in just as much danger as the packs. You need to make a choice. To do the right thing and help stop the spread of the flames, or stand here, patting yourselves on the back because you think you have proven some sort of point, all because of an elderly wolf, who has some mental health issues. You think about that. What if someone came to your home and set it alight because your grandmother has Alzheimer’s and did something a little odd? Now, make your choice, Help, or f**k OFF!” I shout, anger bubbling in my veins at the stupidity of people.

Now all I can do is hope my less than eloquent speech has worked, as I throw the bullhorn back to the crowd, turn on my heel, and run towards the barn to give my practical help to the Alpha of this pack.