01

Josephine

« Did you hear that ? » Kaiden whispers harshly and I tilt my head to the side to listen. All is quiet until I hear a woman’s scream interrupt the silence. I’m on my feet in seconds going to find Michael.

This has never happened before. While everyone sleeps, we take rounds to stay up on guard. Nothing has ever happened on my round since I became of age.

« Alpha Michael ? » I ask, peering into his sleeping quarters. He picks his head up from where he rests with Luna Hilary.

« What, Josephine ? » He snaps and I hold back my flinch. He’s the alpha, I can’t show weakness around him. Plus I know he isn’t too fond of me as it is.

« There’s a situation. » I inform and he’s up on his feet. « There’s screaming and a possibility of another terrorization from Alpha Lupine’s pack. » My voice is steady as we walk to where Kaiden is standing guard by himself.

« What’s the status, Kaiden ? » The alpha’s tone is obviously kinder as he speaks to Kaiden than when he speaks to me but that’s not my focus at the moment. The women’s screaming sounds as if it’s getting louder.

« It is, in fact, Alpha Lupine’s pack, Alpha Michael. » Kaiden nods his head to me and I come over to stand next to him. « How do you wish for us to respond ? »

« Enough is enough. He can only get away with this for so long. » Michael mumbles to himself. « I want our soldiers up and all of you in wolf form. We’re going in to put a stop to that monster. » With that, he walks back towards where the Luna still lies.

Kaiden and I exchange a look before we go to wake the soldiers. Kaiden’s and I’s relationship is more complicated than I would care to admit. Back when we were still pups, we dated for a little bit but we broke it off as we got older. He isn’t my mate so there was no point in continuing to act like he is. Now we’re just friends that used to go out. I know he has my back and I have his.

« Little Miss Josephine. » I hear someone purr as I wake up the person next to them. Well shit. I know who that voice belongs to and I really don’t want to deal with them today.

« What, George ? » I snap and he looks taken a back.

« Now, that isn’t any way to speak to your future mate, is it ? » He asks with fake hurt and I feel like puking. First of all, he’s about ten years older than me. Second, I would rather die than marry some asshole pervert like him. Just because he has yet to find his mate does not mean I want to take her place. He’s nasty.

« It’s not. » I say and he looks a little surprised. « So I guess it’s a good thing you aren’t my future mate. » And with that, I march off to wake up the rest of the soldiers.

« Alpha wants us to switch forms. » Kaiden informs the soldiers once they’re all gathered by the guard spots. « Tonight, he wants to put a stop the the horror that Alpha Lupine’s pack creates. And it is our job to make that happen for him. » The soldiers cheer before the sounds of bones cracking fills the air.

I sigh and slip off my clothes until I’m just standing there in my bra and underwear. None of these men are my mates. They shouldn’t get to see. And my future mate will surly get upset with me if he finds out practically my whole pack has seen me naked like the rest of the girls here. Compared to them, I’m quite modest.

Soon enough, my bones are cracking and I’m suddenly in wolf form. My wolf is smaller than most other wolves. I’m the smallest in the pack which is why Michael, as my alpha, isn’t my biggest fan. Most of these men, their wolves are a little smaller than my human form. My wolf is just a bit bigger than the average normal wolf.

Kaiden comes up to me and nudges my side, asking if I’m ready. I bark at him. Somewhere along the line, Kaiden made it his job to protect me. He’s the fourth biggest wolf in our pack yet instead of being in the front of the line, he stays next to me towards the back. I can’t convince him to do otherwise. He claims his wolf likes my wolf too much to just leave her to protect herself. She can fight for herself much to his doubt.

I wait for most of the other wolves to run ahead of me before going after them. Michael trots towards us in his huge wolf form that’s about as I am in human form. He goes to the front of the pack and we all follow him as he leads us in the direction of the screaming woman. But the closer we get, we realize that it isn’t one woman. It’s screaming women. I whine softly. The things those awful men must be doing to them…

Michael barks as we approach and we stop moving. I lean my head out of formation and look at the scene. What used to be a pack’s territory is now, well, it’s now nothing. I take a step back as I look at the dead wolves laying around and the fire that’s raging across what used to be a field. The wolf behind me growls and Kaiden snarls at him. Now is not the time for this.

Half of Alpha Lupine’s pack must have came in wolf form and the other half must have attacked with weapons. I assume there were guns due to the fire. As I scan the destruction I finally see where the screams are coming from. There are four women being held back by very large men and in front of the women are children being held by more large men.

My heart speeds up as I watch one of the men holding a child take a gun to the child’s head. Kaiden softly growls at me and I know he doesn’t want me to watch. But the thing I don’t understand is that I can’t look away. I can’t look away because if I do, I won’t ever know what’s actually going to happen.

One of the women screams louder than the rest for them to please let her little boy go. The child sobs loudly and I paw at the ground. There’s no way that man will kill that child. No one is that heartless. Kaiden growls again at me but with more force. Some of the other wolves glance back at us. I hear the gun cock and I whine. He won’t kill a child in front of his mother. That’s just too inhumane for even a werewolf. I strain to hear his words as the man says something in a threatening voice. What is he saying ?

I’m helpless as he pulls the trigger.