The Wolf Within

Chapter 6

Johnathan

    I was non-stop smiling all day. My beta Charlie was a little irritated at my happy-go-lucky mood. I would not stop cracking lame jokes and telling him to lighten up.

    Seeing Alandra had me feeling like I was injected with adrenaline. She hadn't noticed me watching her in the store, so I took my chance and asked her out. To be honest I really didn't think she would say yes. But the s****l tension between us said otherwise.

    Or maybe that was just me. Either way, I got a date with the most beautiful girl in the world. And I was lucky enough to call her my mate. 

    I had to figure out what to do about this whole non-wolf situation. A part of me felt like it was a lie. I know what my wolf and I sensed that day. She has a wolf. But everyone was telling me she doesn't. And that she doesn't even know about shifters at all.

    How could I break the news to her? How do I turn her world upside down? Yes, the shifter world is beautiful and amazing, and the moon goddess blessed us with an amazing gift. But it's also ugly, and dangerous, and there's not just us. 

    Telling her would be giving her an amazing gift. But it would also possibly bring danger into her life. I am an Alpha after all. How do I do any of this? 

    I know I don't have that much of a choice. No matter what, she's my mate, and I have to tell her. I just don't feel good about having to alter her reality at all. 

    I sighed heavily and looked up at the half-moon. A few of my pack members, my beta, and I were entering the forest surrounding Lance Port. We had hoped to pick up a trail of the rogues and track them down. 

    Axel was howling in my head and jumping around. Probably excited about the shift. I stripped down and placed my clothes next to a tree and allowed the flames to overtake me. The burning sensation after so many shifts was now just a dull pain. The cracks of my bones no longer hurt. I could shift effortlessly now. 

    My Wolf was a large Grey wolf. He had silver eyes, much like the rest of the wolves in my family. I watched through his eyes as he stared up at the moon. I could feel how he felt, and he missed her. He wanted to be with Alandra.

    I nudged him mentally and he huffed, lazily standing up. He trotted slowly around the perimeter, keeping his nose to the ground. We went a long while without picking up any scents until it hit me like a ton of bricks. Raspberries and lavender. 

    She was here? In the forest? Where rogues could pop up?! 

    Axel jumped into action and was running in her direction before I could even tell him. We hadn't completed the mating process so I couldn't mind link her, or feel if she was ok. My heart started to squeeze at the thought that she was in some type of trouble. 

    After a minute or two, Axel knelt behind some bushes, and before I could ask why he stopped, we spotted her. She was walking barefooted, wearing the same clothes we saw her in at the store. She looked disheveled and defeated. Had something happened to her? 

    We could hear her mumble to herself about not wearing shoes. Axel's ears perked up and our tail started to wag. He wanted to jump out and lick her all over. I had to remind him that she has no idea about us, and that would quickly freak her out. 

    So instead we opted for the slow approach. We slowly stepped out from behind the bush and made our way to her. I could already tell she was freaking out by the way she froze. This cant be good.

    Once she spotted us and our large form, she did a high pitch scream and crouched down, throwing her arms out defensively. Axels' ear flattened at the sound, and I felt his want to roll over and expose our belly in submission. 

    What the hell? Submission? She may be my mate and all, but I was NOT going to submit. I'm an Alpha. I submit to no one. I told him to get a grip and he sat down in front of her.

    After she finally stopped screaming, Axel nudged her outstretched hand with his nose. Trying to show we were not a threat. She peaked at us with one eye and stared at us in disbelief. After a moment or two, she started to pet our head slowly and smiled.

    "Monstrous wild animals my ass. You wouldn't harm a fly would you buddy?" She said as she scratched behind our ear. Axel was going limp with happiness at her petting us. He laid our big head on her lap and she continued petting. 

    We stood like that for a while until we heard her sniffle. Looking up at her, we could see tears trickling down her cheek. 

    My stomach plummeted at the sight. Had we did something wrong? Why was she crying? Desperate, Axel licked her cheek to wipe the tear away. She chuckled lightly and wiped her eyes.

    "I'm sorry buddy. I just... My mom is trying to force me to leave. And I don't want to. But how do I defy my mother?" 

    She was leaving? Like Leaving leaving? When? How come Alpha Saratony didn't tell me this? Did he know?

    My mind was going a thousand miles per minute trying to process the fact that she's leaving, and what I could do to stop her. If she left before I could reveal the truth, it would be difficult, maybe impossible to find her again.

    Putting that to the back of my mind, I watched as axel nuzzled himself into her. We both relaxed immediately when she wrapped her arms around our neck. Feeling her bury her face into our neck made my heart race and flutter. She was finding comfort in us. 

    Axel ruined the moment by starting to pant like a desperate animal. Granted we were desperate, but that's beside the point. She laughed softly and patted our head. 

    "Thank you doggo. Or wolfo? Whichever." She got up slowly and dusted off her clothes. She looked around while biting her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowing. "I wouldn't suppose you know the way out of here?"

    Axels' ears perked up and we stood up, shaking out our fur. We used our snout to point the way and started walking toward the direction that would lead out. We only stopped every few minutes or so to make sure she was keeping up with us.

    To my surprise, she didn't have any trouble maneuvering the forest floor. There was uneven ground, rocks, and twigs, and not to mention the occasional passerby critter. And she didn't trip once. In fact, you barely heard her footsteps. 

    Once we made it to the outskirts of the forest, and you could see the town, she squealed and ran toward it. Before she got too far, she stopped and turned back around. 

    "Thank you wolfo." She planted a kiss on our forehead and sprinted off into town. Once she was out of sight, Axel howled and yip in excitement. 

    Our moment of victory didn't last long as I felt someone trying to probe through the mind link. Sighing, I opened it up.

    ROGUES!

    Axel bolted into the forest again, following the scent of our pack men. He was angry that they were so close to where Alandra was. If we hadn't found her when we did, they may have gotten to her.

    When we got back to where she was just moments before, my men were circling three rogues. They snarled and snapped at us, taking a defensive stance. I took slow steps and bared my fangs. They were a threat and could've been a danger to Alandra. 

    The bigger rogue with brown fur leaped at me. We quickly jumped to the side and were able to get our fangs into its neck, killing it instantly. The other rogue tried to run, but my beta caught it and ripped it to shreds with one of my other men. The only one left was the smallest of the group.

    A little reddish wolf with its tail tucked between its legs. I ordered my men to capture it and to bring it with us back to the Grey Moon packhouse so we could interrogate it. 

    I ran back to where my clothes were and shifted back, the flames retreating. I could still smell Alandra all over me and it made me giddy. She was brave. There may have been nothing to fear, but there was a giant wolf in front of her, and she acted like we were a simple lap dog. 

    What a wonderful Luna she will be. 

    Quickly dressing, I walked back to the car and pulled out my phone, alerting Alpha Thomas about the rogue we were bringing in. I wanted to be sure he had the dungeon ready. The sooner I finished the mission, the sooner I could take Alandra back home with me.

    The fact that her 'mother' was making her leave, raised suspicions in me. Why would she try to force her? Could it be the rogues? or was she hiding something more?

    The way my wolf reacted to her scream was not normal. It's further evidence that Alandra definitely has a wolf. And a damn powerful one at that. Axel would not submit to anyone unless they held more power than him. 

    Whatever was going on there, I was determined now more than ever to find out. 

    When we finally made it to the packhouse, Markus was waiting for me outside. I rolled my eyes at him as I stepped out of the car. The last person I wanted to see was him. He disrespected my mate, and that makes me want to put him in his place. 

    He nodded to me. "My father is in the dungeons now waiting for you. You really got one?" he said a little too surprisingly. 

    I eyed him carefully trying to decipher if he meant it sarcastically or seriously. I decided to brush it off for now and just ignore him. There was no point in engaging in conversation with him right now. I motioned to my men to bring the rogue and had Markus escort them down, and asked him to tell his father to meet me in the sitting area.

    He simply nodded and took my men down to the dungeons so they could shackle up the rogue. I watched them pass and saw the rogue was just a boy. Maybe sixteen. He probably just had his first shift not too long ago. A pain made its way to my heart.

    Sixteen was too young to pay for crimes you probably had no idea about. I felt that familiar burden weigh its self in my chest. This is what an Alpha must do. Uphold the laws and justice of his people. Even if he didn't like it.

    Shaking my head, I made my way inside and went back to that poshy sitting room. A few moments later, Alpha Thomas, his Luna, and Markus greeted me. They still exhibited stuck-up behaviors. I really didn't like dealing with people like them. 

    I smiled half-heartedly at them. "We managed to kill two rogues, and have captured one. I will lead the interrogation."

    Alpha Thomas looked surprised, and for once, he seemed beside himself. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but closed it. It was the Luna that spoke up first, "Well, you lot sure do work fast. We surely hadn't expected anything for some time."

    I c****d an eyebrow at her. Did they expect us to just sit around and waste time? This was a serious rogue problem according to them. "Yes well, we would rather be done with this quickly before it escalates."

    Alpha Thomas clears his throat and steps forward, "Maybe I should lead. It is my territory after all. And they were hunting on my lands. It is only right."

    Only right? I scuffed at him and crossed my arms over my chest. I took a step closer, towering over him to remind him who exactly he was dealing with, letting my Alpha aura seep out.

    "Normally, you would be correct. But, seeing as you were the one who reached out to me, I will take lead. Is that a problem?" I knew I was being a tad disrespectful, but so was he.

    He clenched his jaw a few times and plastered a forced smile on his face. "Of course not." He said his eyes darting to his Luna. 

    Something was definitely going on. Why wouldn't he want us to deal with it? He called us here. Not the other way around. 

    Or did he think us incompetent to do the task? Either way, I was not liking his attitude toward this. I turned around and left them in the sitting area as I made my way to their dungeons. Stopping at the top of the stairs, I pulled my hair tie off my wrist and gathered my locs up, securing them in the hair tie. 

    Time to get my hands dirty.

    I took a deep breath, and removed all emotions from my face, making my way down the stairs.