Chapter 16: The Lone Alpha

Chapter Fourteen. Mars and Max.

My legs did not want to move anymore, as I hurtled as fast as I could through the wooded areas. Finally, they gave in, and I fell into darkness. My heart is broken, as I see my beautiful sister being torn apart. Her screams echo my own in this moment.

“NOOO!” I cried out, as finally I fell into the abyss. Free from the horrors of what has happened to me and my family.

I do not know how long I was out of it, but when I come to, I was in a soft bed, blinking my eyes open hoping that my nightmare was over. My family would be alive and well.

But strange scents fill my nostrils, and I know that I am not in my room at my pack. I am somewhere different. The realisation that it was not a dream hits me like a tidal wave, as I begin to scream out in grief, and fear.

“Mammy the wolf man is awake!” the small voice shouts frantically.

I open my eyes, to see a small child watching over me. One whiff of his scent indicates he is human. He tilts his head, looking at me curiously as a woman with short brown hair hurtles through the door, grabbing the child to her, a look of fear in her eyes.

“What are you doing in here?” she reprimands the child.

“I just came to look. He was crying, mammy. Then began to scream and growl,” the little boy tells her.

“Come, let's go get your father. This was his crazy idea anyway,” she orders her son, pulling him out of the room.

I go to move, to sit up but find my chest burns. As I look down, I see silver chains holding me in place.

I have what can only be described as an out-of-body experience. I know I am awake, but it feels like I am on the outside of my life, looking in on the continued nightmare.

I hear a harrowing roar echoing around the room a mixture of pain, grief and rage. It takes a moment to realise that the sound that is coming from me, or rather Ares. At that moment, I am grateful that my wolf is able to manifest his presence.

Footsteps approach the doorway, as hushed voices begin to argue. I beg with Ares to quieten down, so that I can hear what is being said.

“I don’t know why you brought him here!” The woman from earlier hisses.

“Because there is a bounty on his head. How many werewolves do you find around these parts, Mary. None. I told you old Patrick said in the bar last night that anyone finding one of the beasts around these parts will be rewarded with enough Euros a lottery winner would be proud of. It will pay off our debt, the house will be free from the mortgage, and you can go on that cruise you wanted,” the male voice hissed back.

“If you would stop spending our money on Guinness we would not need the extra,” The woman hissed back at him.

“Nail, you keep out of that room, do you hear me? Do not go in there again,” The woman shouts at what I presume is the kid.

Darkness falls again, as my body slips into its unconscious state.

I wake up, with the sounds of shouting once more.

“What do you mean a werewolf Alpha is coming here to get him?” The woman screeches.

“Calm yourself down, Mary. He is coming to get him tonight. All we have to do is inject him with this poison they have given us, and they will take him away. Three million Euro Mary, that, is the reward a cool three mil!” the male voice states.

I know I am done for. I ran away and didn’t fight for anything. I feel the lump in my throat forming into another loud roar, but I swallow it down. I need to think. My parents didn’t sacrifice their lives for me to give up this easily.

“What will they do with him?” the little boy I now know is Nial asks.

“Not our problem son. All I know is we are to make him weak with this stuff they gave me. Look, Mary, you know I am not good with needles, you must inject him with it,” The man states.

“Why me? You started this fool’s errand, you are on your own Sean,” she shouts.

“We need that money, now do as you are told bitch,” Sean shouts back, the sound of a hand hitting a cheek, sounds in my ear.

I feel nothing but disgust. What kind of man hits a woman? This coward wants to send his wife in to do his dirty work, I instinctively know it is because he is frightened, and doesn’t care if she lives or dies. I want to rip his head off.

The arguing continues, as I struggle against the silver chains that bind me. The burn on my skin made me feel sick to the stomach.

As I struggle the door squeaks open, and the little boy with jet-black hair and big brown eyes looks at me. I go to speak when he places his finger to his lips to hush me.

“I think the men my daddy has sold you Tom will hurt you,” he whispers.

I am not sure what to think, but I nod at Nial, who looks around ten or eleven years old, hoping that he feels as conflicted as his mother.

He pulls out a small key, and unlocks the padlock on the chain, then walks to the sash window and opens it.

“Go quickly. If my daddy gets that money, he will drink it all, he hits Mammy when he has too much Guinness,” Nial tells me, his eyes wide.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“What about you and your mammy?” I ask him, suddenly afraid for the little one.

“He will get mad, but we will be okay. He needs Mammy’s food money to buy more alcohol. It won’t be long before he starts to shake, and has to go to the bar again,” Nial says with eyes that show just how much this little one and his mother have gone through at the hands of that piece of shit.

“Come with me, I will protect you” I instantly tell him. But the boy shakes his head and looks nervously over his shoulder.

“I have to protect my mammy,” he tells me, and it honestly breaks my heart a little bit more to know what this boy is going through.

Nial quickly turns, and sneaks out of my room, and I scramble as quickly as I can towards the window, thankful that the house I am being held captive in is a cottage. As I drop to the ground, my legs give way, and I roll to the side, willing myself to get up. For Ares to give me some of his strength so that we can get away.

I hear shouting from inside the cottage, then a loud cry of a little boy, my helper as the woman begs for her husband to not hurt her child.

I move to re-enter the house, hoping Ares has recovered enough from being bound by silver, to fight against the man who is hurting my hero. As I scramble to my feet and hold onto the windowsill, I hear a loud crash and the woman screams. I go to hoist myself in, but my heart stops beating as I look at the mother, sobbing and cradling her limp son to her chest, his head oozing with blood, and I cannot hear a heartbeat. I have failed them, just like I failed my pack and my family!

Max.

I know it is naughty, but Thrax is begging me to go find Daddy. I sneak out of bed, quietly opening the door, as I find my slippers.

“Are you sure Thrax?” I ask my doggy friend.

“Yes, go find daddy, he needs us,” he tells me.

I am not sure how he knows, but I trust my Thrax, if he tells me Daddy needs us, then I will do as he says. I just hope Mammy doesn’t wake up whilst I am gone. I do not know how I will even find daddy, but Thrax is a doggy and can follow his smell.

I tip-toe out of my room, quietly grab the keys for the caravan door that is on the dining table, and quickly open it. As I step out I hear crying, and a small growl. It is not loud, but I can hear it. It is coming from under my caravan.

I stoop down and tilt my head, to find my daddy asleep, his head on a pillow, as he lay on the stones underneath. He is shaking, and he is crying, and it is making me feel very sad.

I scoot down under the caravan onto the stones. I don’t like that my daddy is sleeping here, because it will hurt him. We have a spare room, he could sleep in that, rather than here. I move over to him and gently tug at his jumper.

“Daddy,” I say to him.

“Wake up,” I tell him.

Daddy jumps, hitting his head on the bottom of the caravan, then looks at me shaking his head.

“Max, what are you doing out here son?” he asks.

“Thrax told me to come. You were shaking, crying and growling in your sleep,” I tell him. I hope he isn’t mad at me.

“Oh my boy, my beautiful pup,” Daddy says and pulls me into his arms.

Just then I hear Mammy, as she calls out my name. She sounds frightened, and now I feel horrible that I have scared her.

“Davina he is here,” Daddy shouts as Mammy storms down the steps and looks under the caravan.

“What the hell. What are you doing under there Mars? Why is my son up in the middle of the night with you? Max, get here right now!” she shouts, as I look at her, then bow my head. I guess I will not get any more Ice cream for a while because my mammy is mad, and I think she might send my daddy away. I really hope she doesn’t, because I love my daddy, just as much as Thrax does now.