02

Josephine

My wolf whimpers as I take a step back uneasily. This time, the wolf behind me doesn’t even nudge me back forward. That man, oh my god, that man just shot a little boy in front of his poor, helpless mother.

Kaiden whines at me and I look over at him. He tilts his head to the side as he looks at me. I’m sure my eyes tell all. He steps toward me, his eyes more concerned for me than for the mother and I snarl at him. He growls right back, making sure I understand he’s more dominant than I am. I glare at him.

Kaiden only gets mad at me for a few reasons and he mostly only expresses his anger in high-stress situations. But this time, I won’t let him get mad at me when there are men down there slaughtering children and forcing their mothers to watch. I turn away from him and focus on the women as another gunshot sounds and another woman screams out as if it were her being shot.

The child’s limp body is tossed to the ground having served its purpose. I don’t give two shits what these women did to deserve this because nothing I can think of would deserve a punishment this sever. I whine anxiously. Why aren’t we doing anything ? Why are we just sitting here watching ?

As if Michael could hear my thoughts through the pack link, he steps forward. I sigh in relief. No more children need to die tonight. The fact that we were just sitting there watching was insane. Kaiden rests his head down on the top of mine to remind me that he’s here to protect me and the loudest growl I’ve ever heard in my eighteen years of life erupts from way in the front of the pack. But the growl isn’t from a pack member.

I strain to see its source and I tense up when the biggest wolf I’ve seen stands there. He’s bigger than I am in human form ; he’s practically a horse. And I know exactly who it is : Alpha Lupine.

Michael stands tall and proud being a bit shorter than Alpha Lupine as he approaches our pack. We’re either definitely going to all die or he’s going to let us off with a warning. Given what I’ve just seen, I’m definitely not leaning towards the later.

Kaiden takes a protective step towards me and I hear Alpha Lupine growl yet again. What’s his problem ? I watch anxiously as he gets closer and closer to Michael and then I tilt my head to the side as he walks right past out alpha. What ? He makes his way down our pack and they clear a way for him to walk. This guy is seriously intimidating. I scoot to the side to let him pass as he approaches by he stops right in front of me. What the hell… ?

The huge alpha that towers in front of me makes me want to cower but I look way up, right into his caramel brown eyes. Damn, he’s tall. Kaiden moves a little closer to me and the alpha cuts him a look and snarls at him. Kaiden, know he’s out of his league here, hesitantly moves away from me. The alpha takes another step toward me and I tense up, still not looking away. He’s going to kill me. He’s going to kill me because I’m the smallest in the pack so it won’t make a huge difference yet it will still scare my pack enough to put them in their place. No one messes with Alpha Lupine’s pack. No one.

He growls softly at me and its a completely different growl than what he used with Kaiden. I find myself attracted to the sound almost feeling as if there’s a pull. I don’t move as badly as my inner wolf is begging me to. She’s practically howling at me to just submit to him and then let him do whatever he wants with me. Good thing I’m in control because that’s an awful idea.

Suddenly, he takes a step forward so he’s very close to me and he picks me up by the scruff of my neck. Oh god. I’m really going to die. This is it. He’s going to kill me and no one is going to stop him. Kaiden watches me helplessly as the alpha walks into the woods with me. No one in my pack comes after me. They know it’ll get us both killed. Might as well save a life if we can.

The alpha walks quite a ways with me before setting me down. I feel so small compared to him. I feel tiny. He tilts his head as he looks at me and then he growls appreciatively. What is going on ? Why hasn’t he killed me yet ? He does the weirdest thing then, he rubs his large head against my small one with affection. What in the actual fuck is happening ?

Hello, beautiful, Alpha Lupine speaks in my head and I shiver. Okay maybe he’s not being affectionate ? Oh my god, he’s going to rape me and then kill me. I might as well run now and let him kill me then because that would be so much better than the alternative.

Don’t be afraid, he says softly and it amazes me how a monster that orders his men to kill children in front of their helpless mothers can use such a kind tone.

Why haven’t you killed me yet, I snap and he growls roughly. Here it comes. He’s finally going to end this miserable suspense.

No one is ever going to hurt you, least of all that person being me, he growls in my head. Why would I hurt my own mate, love ? And then it hits me. How else would he be able to speak to me in wolf form ? We have a mate link. He licks the side of my face as I stand there frozen. Oh my god. My mate is the alpha of the worst pack in America. Of course it is. When has my luck ever been good ?

My mate is fucking Alpha Lupine.

Josephine

I trot unhappily next to the alpha as he walks back towards the scene of destruction he created. I’ve tried multiple times to fall back and steer off course to escape him but every time, he growls deeply at me.

It’s not even a threatening growl. It’s just him reminding me that’s a bad idea because he’ll catch up and then I’ll be in trouble. Maybe it’ll be worth it in the end. At least I would be able to say I tried. My mate is a monster. Of course. My pack is still in the same position it was when we left it.

As he walks past my pack with me trotting slowly behind him, I can feel their eyes on me. Most eyes are surprised that I’m actually alive. I notice Kaiden watching me with distress and I glance at Alpha Lupine walking and not really paying attention to me. He’ll notice I’ve steered off course again of course but this is worth the risk. Kaiden is the one and only friend I have. With one last glance at the alpha, I veer towards Kaiden and come to a stop before him.

He whines lightly at me and I whine right back. Aw, Kaiden. I’m seriously going to miss this guy. I know the alpha is approaching before I actually see him towering next to me. Kaiden avoids looking him right in the eye as the alpha growls threateningly at him.

Get the fuck away from him before I lose my shit, he snarls at me in my head and I paw at the ground stubbornly. I don’t want him to just order me around like this. Im his mate and he said he wouldn’t hurt me so what am I actually scared of ?

He pushes the side of my rib with his nose, warning me to step away. I look helplessly at Kaiden and he doesn’t meet my eyes. I know this is killing him, knowing that I’m going to be with this monster for the rest of my life. But he can’t do a thing about it unless he wants to die. I look up at the alpha who does, in fact, look about ready to lose his shit and I whimper.

Don’t do that, he says softly almost as if pleading with me. It hurts to hear you in pain. And he’s not kidding. I can practically feel him hiding his pain within his fierce expression. He would rather die than lose his pride by seeming weak in front of another man. I know that for a fact.

You could always let me go, I suggest. He looks down at me then and his eyes scare me. That was definitely not a good thing to say. Before he can get mad at me in front of all of these men, he snarls at me angrily and picks my up by the scruff of my neck again. I look at Kaiden as the alpha runs off with me. I howl at Kaiden and he howls in response. As he’s suddenly disappears from view, I go limp in the alpha’s grip. Fighting seems pointless now.