Rejected Alpha

Chapter Seven

I quickly found out Hope was a very enthusiastic shopper. You could tell she hadn’t ever been shopping. Her eyes were wide and filled with mirth and a joy of a child. She stared and pointed at everything. Oohing and awing at everything she found pretty or saw something she liked. I couldn’t help but smile the whole time. I knew she was small and scared but I never realized how innocent she was. So oblivious to the world around her. How has Elijah allowed this to happen? Keep her so secluded? Or maybe it was her decisions to stay on pack lands.

“Here we are.” I smiled pulling into the mall parking lot. I had to google where the closest mall was. Which just so happened to be over an hour away. Yay me! Not!

“It’s so big.” Hope murmured. “How can we not get lost?” she turned to me wide eyed.

“They have maps of the mall all over the place.” I laughed, stepping out of the car and shutting the door. “Anyway. It’s fun just to walk around and see what’s here. To explore and just have fun.”

“What’s all in there?” Hope asked, her eyes back on the imposing building. I wondered if she had ever been to a mall before.

“Well, a lot of stuff.” I shrugged. “There are different clothing stores. Candy shops, a food court. Anything you can think of is probably in here.” I hooked my arm through the not broken one and all but drug her to the front door. She seemed like she would rather stand and stare at the building than to go inside.

“We’ll start at hot topic. It’s one of my favorite shops.” I tell her smiling. She just smiled back at me as she followed me, looking around her in wonder. I laughed, unable to stop myself. “You, okay?” I asked, letting her go after we got to the store.

“Me? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just over whelmed.” She murmured.

I nodded in understanding. Well, sort of understanding. The mall back home was so much bigger than this one. Hell, kids got kidnapped from the mall back home every day, and we all still went like it was the safest place in the world. Which honestly isn’t as bad as it sounds, and maybe over exaggerating a bit on the kidnapping thing.

We spent hours shopping. Probably spending way more than we should have. But I turns out that Hope didn’t have nearly as much as she should as a teenager. No makeup, no hair products or straighteners, curling irons, nothing. She didn’t own a single dress or a skirt. She only had older clothes, not threadbare or anything but also not new. She didn’t have any sexy underwear by what she told me. It was sad. So I bought her everything.

We had both eventually found a dress we both wanted to wear to the ceremony. Plus so much more. I bought a new pair od sandals and combat boots. Several tank tops and training clothes and shoes. Head bands to keep my hair out of my face during training and more. Honestly all that mattered to me was Hope and the smile she was wearing right now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone’s face as bright as hers was right now.

“Let’s go get something to eat and then go back. It’s getting late.” I told her leading her back towards the food court. I was starving.

“Seraphina, be careful.” Ruby’s voice pierced through my mind making me jump. Damn it, I had to remember she was there.

“What’s up?” I asked, trying to keep my smile at Hope and talk to Ruby at the same time.

“Leave, now.” Ruby shouted, making me jump. The desperation and force in her voice had me grabbing Hope’s arm and dragging her out the door. She kept asking me questions, shouting at me asking what’s wrong. Her voice was breaking and I knew she was scared but I couldn’t respond. My senses were spread too thin trying to hear and see any threat that could come our way. I threw our stuff in the back seat of the car, ordering Hope to get in and lock the door. I followed suite.

“Drive, drive drive.” Ruby’s voice demanded, franticly.

“Seraphine what’s going on?” Hope shouted, her hand clutching the overhead handle bar.

“I don’t know.” I hissed, my eyes darting from the road to the rearview mirror. “My wolf is going crazy, telling me to run, to drive.”

The fear intensified in Hope’s eyes. “What are we going to do?”

My eyes went back to the rearview mirror noticing a blue car following us. “We’re being followed. You have the pack link, right?” I asked, pressing the gad peddle harder. Hope just squeaked and nodded. “Use it. Contact Elijah, tell him we’re being followed.”

Hope’s eyes kind of glazed over for a minute, before her normal grey returned. “He wants to know who or what is following us. And he said to keep driving.”

“Ruby? Whose following us?” I was trying to keep my voice steady.

“Dragons.”

“What the hell?” I shouted, realizing I said this aloud. “Hope, we’re screwed. Tell Elijah, it’s dragons. We’re being followed by dragons.” Hope’s eyes went wide, before glazing over again.

“He said to come back. There is no way to escape dragons. The pack warriors are home and are already out and ready.”

I growled. What the hell is he thinking asking me to lead the dragons to our territory, putting the pack in danger? But what other choice did I have? Ruby was mad, despite her insistence we run. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like it at all. It may be Elijah’s idea, but it would be me putting the pack in danger. Me who will be leading them to us.

I looked out the rearview again and noticed the car further back. “Hope, can you drive?” I asked, never taking my eyes from the road.

“Uh, yes, I can. Why?”

I looked over to her scared grey eyes. “Take the wheel Hope. We’re going to switch places.”

“What? No.” she shouted stunned. “I can’t.”

“You can and you will.” I growled. “I will not lead dragons back to the pack. I don’t care what Elijah says. Now take the wheel.” I all but shouted.

“Okay, okay.” Hope whined, unbuckling her seatbelt and scooting over putting her hands on the steering wheel to keep the car steady. I would have to apologize to her later. I didn’t mean to scare her, or order her around but I needed to lead them away.

I leaned the seat of the car back and slid my way to the back while Hope slid into my place, and raised the seat to where she needed it. I thanked her, and opened the sun roof, carefully climbing out. I looked around carefully, trying to see where the car was and if the car was still behind us. Unfortunately, it was still there, and getting closer.

“What do we do?” I asked Ruby, keeping my eyes to the sky and road. I didn’t know dragons existed; I’ve never even seen one. So why were they following us?

“Run, that’s what we can do. We’re not strong enough to fight a dragon yet.” Ruby seethed, sounding angry that she couldn’t fight.

“Damn it.” I growled, letting Ruby help me shift since I wasn’t sure how. It was easy this time, painless. And the next thing I knew I was standing on top of a moving vehicle in my rather large wolf form. I howled, the sound splitting through the air like lightning. With a snarl I jumped from the car and ran, straight at the vehicle that was following us. Not exactly the best plan but also better than them following me to the pack.

When I was close, I jumped landing on the hood of their car, with a vicious growl. My sapphire eyes stared back at me through the glass, before I jumped over the hood and to the road, running in the opposite direction. The squealing of tires sounded behind me, along with continued shouts, then a loud crash. I turned to look, and noticed the blue car had rolled. It sat on its hood teetering off the side of the nearby cliff. Damn it, I can’t just leave them to die.

I stopped, turning completely just to see. There were three of them, all three men. Very large and bulky, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were freaking mountains. I shook my head. No, stop. I focused back on them, noticing all of them were passed out. I ran towards the car, examining it and where the weight was and where it should be. If I pulled one from the front out the car should even out. I sighed at myself. I am so going to regret this. Saving dragons. The same ones who have been following us since before we left the mall. But they needed help, and I couldn’t just let them die.

Growling, I slowly made my way towards the edge of the cliff and the front of my car. The driver was limp, his eyes closed. I slipped my body under him, carful not to put too much weight in the vehicle itself. Once he was secured, I snapped through the seatbelt with my teeth, freeing him it. I crawled backwards with this heavy ass man on my back. When we were finally back out on the road, I dropped him on his side with a growl, before going back to the car.

The next man was in the passenger seat of the car. He was smaller, younger. He couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen. I still didn’t like him; couldn’t believe I was saving people who planned to do God knows what if they caught us. But I did, placing my body under his just like I did the first time and snapping his seat belt. I dropped him next the first man, before going back to the car for the last man, repeating the process.

When all of them were safe and not at risk of dying, I prowled around them snarling, saliva dripping from my fangs. Maybe it was stupid but I stayed and stared at them until one started to stir. I lowered myself into a defensive position, growling at the larger man. He was groggy when he woke up, his eyes zeroing in on the teetering car. A horrified gasp left him as he moved to stand. I barked. Not aggressive, but to get his attention.

His startling green eyes landed on me and widened. I ignored the look, and pointed with my snout for him to look behind him. His brows furrowed, but he turned and looked. This time a relieved sigh left him, a large whoosh of air leaving him as his shoulder slumped.

He turned back to me, confusion in his eyes. “You saved us?” His deep voice rang out. A tilt of my head, no more telling him my answer. “Why?” I huffed, rolling my eyes as I sat down. “You couldn’t let us die, could you? Even though we were after you, even though you could have ended us quickly you still saved us."

I snorted. If anything, this guy would be amazing at charades. As the other men started to stir, I shot to my feet growling. The big guy held his hands out to me trying to tell me they weren’t a danger to me. I didn’t believe it for a second. They were after us for a reason, why stop now?

“What happened?” The smaller man groaned, holding the back of his head.

“We turned too fast and rolled the car. The wolf saved us.”

“What?” The small man shouted, his eyes darting around until they landed on me. I curled my lip over my teeth in warning. “Why?” I huffed again. Were they all going to ask the same question?

“Can you shift so we can talk?” The larger man asked me, his voice calm, smooth.

I growled, shaking my head in reply. He didn’t honestly think I would make myself more vulnerable by shifting, did he? Dumbass. No way in hell am I doing that. They haven’t exactly given me welcoming nonviolent vibes. They were chasing us after all. How many times have I said that already?”

“We won’t hurt you.” He continued. “We will even stay over here, away from you.”

The last man was awake now, the smaller one explaining to him what happened. The dumbass asked the same question as the other two. Hell, I knew they were chasing us but I’m not a monster, I couldn’t just let them die.

“Here.” The large man lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it over to me. It landed at my feet and I looked from it to him a few times. I c****d my head to the side questioningly. Did he really think I’d do this? Then again, he nor the others had moved an inch since he told me they would stay over there. Ugh, fine. I looked around before finding a tree. I huffed, grabbed the shirt and went to shift back.

The shirt was warm, the fabric falling to my knees. It smelt amazing. Like autumn leaves and smoke. Unusual maybe, but somehow intoxicating. I had to shake my head for a minute, to clear my head. What the hell was that all about? Deciding I hid long enough I stepped out from behind the tree and faced the now three standing men. I instantly went rigid, even if they were still where they said they’d be. They were much less imposing and intimidating when they were sitting. Now, standing. These damn men were huge. Like really, really huge.

I froze where I was, refusing to move even an inch in their direction. Nope, not me. Not that stupid, they can talk to me from here. I refuse to go to them. I mean, the biggest could crush me with one arm without even trying. I bet if I went to him, I wouldn’t clear his collar bone. He was a good head and shoulders taller than me.

“Uh, yeah. No. You can talk to me from here.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Are you afraid?’ The smaller of the three teased. Why was he teasing me? Acting like we’re friends. I don’t know him. “No.” I hissed. “But I am also not stupid enough to approach three men the size of a damn mountain. No thank you.” That made them laugh. Like double over, hysterical laughter. I’m glad someone thought it was funny. I was being serious.

“Are you done?” I growled.

“I’m sorry.” The biggest one chuckled, his green eyes flaring. They were absolutely beautiful. “It’s just that we have never been compared to a mountain before.”

“Yeah, well. There is a first time for everything.” I grumbled. “What do you want anyway? Why were y’all following us?”

“We were following you, not your friend.” He told me, all business now.

“Oh, and that makes it so much better.” I deadpanned. “What do you want?”

“Why did you save us?” The third man asked, the one who’d been quiet until now.

“Well, I couldn’t let you all die, it’s cruel. Follow me, kidnap me whatever, I still couldn’t let you die. It’s just not right. I’m not a damn monster.” I shrugged.

“You don’t know us though.” The smallest said.

“And? Your point?” I raised a brow. “Okay, how about we cut to the chase. I save you yes, your welcome. Now what. do. you. want?” I enunciated each word, slowly, carefully. Maybe they’ll get it this time.

“Well, we were paid to capture you.”

“Capture me? Why?” I clenched my fists, ready to shift on the spot if the need arise.

“They said you were dangerous.”

“Damn it, who?” I shouted. My nerves officially gone.

“The vampires.”

I laughed. “Oh, them? Yeah, I killed a bunch of them when they attacked my pack.” I uncrossed my arms and glared at the three men in front of me. “If you attack my people, then yes, I will fight you and I might possibly kill you. That does not make me dangerous, it makes me protective, territorial and possessive. Nothing more.”

All three men looked between the other with their brows furrowed. They seemed to have some kind of silent conversation before the largest turned to me. “My name is Alexander. This is Nicholas.” He motioned towards the smallest. “And this is Dameon. I apologize for the situation we have put you in. We were not informed you were defending your land.”

“Of course not. They would never admit to defeat.” I shrugged.

“Can we escort you home?” Alexander asked.

“Escort me home? You mean walk me home? Do you know how far that is? It’s a forty-five-minute drive, so at least an hour and a half walk. Not that I mind, but still.” I replied, deciding to walk down towards them. And I was right Alexander was freaking huge. Standing here with him just three feet away, he is a foot and half taller than me. I had to crane my head up to look at him. “Damn. Do dragons not come in smaller sizes?” I looked between them all. “This is ridiculous."

Nicholas laughed. “Well, dragons are large shifters.”

“Maybe, never seen one, never knew you existed until just a while ago. To be honest I didn’t even know I was a wolf until like a day or two ago. I shifted early so, here I am. Clueless female wolf, at your service.” I laughed.

“For someone who don’t know about this world you sure catch on fast. How did you even know what we were?” daemon asked.

“My wolf told me.”

He just nodded, his eyes kind, but suspicious all the same. I didn’t care, I wasn’t seeking his approval. I wasn’t seeking any of their approval. I didn’t need it. The sound of gravel flying caught my attention. I could smell the fuel, hear the army that was coming.

“You all have to go.” I turned and looked at them wide eyed. “Go, my pack is coming. Go push the car over the cliff and disappear. It’ll look like you fell with it. You’re dragons you have wings. Make sure your scent leads off the cliff.”

All the men did was stand there and stare at me. I looked between them and where the cars were coming from. “Go.” I shouted, breaking them from their trance.

“Our clan is close by, look for the snow-capped mountains. Come see us.”

With that, they ran. All of them together pushed the car from the cliff and dove after it. I could only hope their scent would lead the same way. In order to make things seem, well normal, I took Alexanders shirt off, tied it around my leg and shifted. Common sense would say I stayed in my wolf form.

I had just ducked behind the tree as the army of vehicles descended. Of course, they noticed the marks and car pieces in the road making them stop. These were wolves I’d never seen before, but I’ve also never met any of the warriors. I smelt them; the scent of the pack clung to them so I made myself known. I walked from behind the tree and yipped. Catching their attention.

“You Seraphina?” One of the men asked, his hazel eyes hard as he stared at me. I didn’t like it, a loud growl vibrated my chest, my eyes narrowed in on the man before me. He wanted to challenge me fine. Bring it on. But the mans eyes widened, his eyes dropping. “Forgive me.” His voice lower. “I mean no disrespect. Are you Seraphina?” I huffed, walking over to him and nipped his shirt. He startled, his eyes meeting mine briefly before turning to the men behind him. “Get her some clothes.” He barked the order.

I sighed. I was tired, so Iay down and rested my head on my paws as I waited for some clothes. It didn’t take long but it also wasn’t the warrior who was bringing them. It was Blaze. I sprang to my feet, my lip curling over my teeth in a feral snarl. Of all people it had to be him. Why him? The damn i***t blowing hot and cold, not knowing what he wants. I don’t want to deal with that mess.

“Seraphina I’m sorry.” Blaze soothed. “I didn’t mean to snap at you, I know you were just trying to help.” My snarl fell quiet but I was still bristled, ready for anything this boy may throw at me. “Here.” He lay the clothes on the ground tow yards away from me, before quickly backing up and away. I growled lowly, but went over and grabbed the clothes so I could shift back. Of all the freaking people in the pack. My parents, Hope, Elijah. Why was Blaze the one to come with the warriors? Ugh, whatever. I can handle him for a little while. Once we get back to the pack I could just walk away and go to my room. I didn’t want to be around Blaze anymore than I had to be. And maybe that was being petty but I don’t care.

“What’s with the army?” I asked, walking from behind the tree, my eyes darting between all the men I see here. Too many. I stopped walking, scanning the cars and the people. No one was here. Not Elijah, not my parents, not even Hope. Just Blaze and the warriors. Neither of which I trust. “Where are my parents?” I locked eyes with Blaze.

“At the house waiting for you.” His words sounded sincere, but his eyes held something entirely different.

“There is no way my father wouldn’t come with you to get me.” I stated, taking several steps back. “No way Elijah wouldn’t be here. What’s going on?”

Blaze laughed. Darkly. “Did you really think I wouldn’t take advantage of this situation?” He raised a brow. “You don’t belong in the pack. There will not be a female stronger than me in my pack. I am the strongest, I am the future alpha.”

“I don’t want your alpha position dumbass.” I growled. “I am a pure blood alpha female. I can be an alpha or a Luna depending on who or if I am mated.” I narrowed my eyes. “You may be the future alpha but you’re not alpha yet, and I will not play your petty games. You want to challenge me fine, but be a man and do it right.” With that I shifted back, shredding the clothes they had just given me. I was gone and out of sight before they could even shift.