The Alpha And The Reaper- Part II

Axel:

He is here, even when he is not…

I can feel his presence all around us, like an ominous cloud that settled itself around, above, and beneath us, my wolf trembles and fights the urge to succumb to the unseen predator, and I curse inwardly as I continue to scan the area with my eyes, my claws digging into the moist soil beneath me, I share my strength with my warriors as I hear them whimpering in my head, a shameful reaction that I wish I could growl at but mine hasn’t been better, he is here, and he is terrifying, his essence so dark and powerful, chilling the blood in our veins, his scent so potent and compelling, turning our minds numb and filling my warriors with fear.

I gulp secretly as I tell my warriors to stay alert and ready, and to not let themselves be affected by his presence, they are warriors not damsels in distress, and even if they are suffocating with fear and the knowledge that he is here, they can’t show any signs of weakness, they are not allowed to.

We are no strangers to pain, blood, and death, we have lived alongside danger all our lives, it cannot affect us now just because it is closer, my voice is calm and collected as I speak through the mind link, we are ready, I tell them, we have got this, we came prepared for him and his mutts and we will not let anyone step foot inside our territory, the warriors growl in agreement, all reminded that we are here to protect what is ours, our lands, our females, our children, and everything we hold dear, the mere notion igniting fire back into their hearts, but not mine as I ask myself the same question for the hundredth time…are we really here to protect?

Shaking my head to get rid of the unwanted question and the guilt it brings, I focus back on the thick forest ahead of me, my senses alert and sharp as I try to locate the source of this foul eeriness, it is getting closer and stronger, and the mere minutes that we spent waiting now feels like hours with how the atmosphere around us changed from caution and anticipation to absolute alert and throttling danger, this presence, it is much heavier and darker than what I have thought it to be, something so malicious it seeps through the skin to settle in one’s bones, making them shiver under the layers of flesh and bravery.

And yet, he refuses to show himself, they all do!

I know they are here, I can see their shadows fluctuating alongside those of the forest, and yet, they refuse to attack, as if waiting for something, but waiting is a luxury we do not have, I think as I watch the sun starting to make its way towards the west, the energy of the humans, the children of the sun, is our only way to weaken the reaper and only then I can defeat it, but we cannot keep the humans here for longer nor can we keep the sun up in the sky, we have to act now!

“Leo, use your bow to shoot an arrow at one of the shadows, and make it count!” I order through the mind link and my friend is quick to obey, still in his human form, Leo draws an arrow with his gloved hand and in the next second, unleashes it forward, I watch with anticipation as one of the shadows stills, did it hit him?

Fuck! I think as the shadow marches forward, sun rays bathing his herculean body as he emerges from the forest with steady steps, the arrow gripped in his gigantic hand, and if the silvery head of the arrow caused him any pain, he didn’t show it, his face remains stoic as if carved out of steel as he steps towards us with confident steps, not hasting, not hesitating, just walking calmly as if there isn’t a fucking army ahead of him.

Is this him? One of the warriors asks no one in particular, and we all focus on the giant, he has a very threatening aura around him and he looks like he can take down a small pack with his bare hands, his bare chest covered in tribal tattoos and battle scars, and his brown eyes tell a long story of winning against a life of hardships, his abnormal muscles flexing under the scarce sun rays, this one here is a killing machine, I think to myself, but he is not the reaper, his smell is not the one I caught on the bodies of my dead hunters.

That smell is there, mixed with the smell of the giant who is clearly a werebear, our natural predator, and it has me shaking my head with the need to focus on the present, on the man in front of us instead of the one I cannot see yet, pushing away all the intrusive thoughts and the blind desire to tear these woods apart until I find the bastard who killed my hunters and probably my sister and dig my canines in his chest, the thought of his blood smearing my mouth as I rip his head off his shoulders is so fucking mouthwatering and the need to avenge my warriors and my sister is maddening, but as the Alpha, I cannot let my own emotions rule me, I cannot afford to lose myself to the irrational invitation of vengeance for it will cost me dearly, I need to put my own feelings and pain aside and focus on the survival of my pack, it is time for me to be the leader I am meant to be before being the fighter I know I am.

And still, a small part of me is still caught on the lingering smell of the reaper, as maddening as it is, I cannot help but find it strangely…familiar…

Something of my own.

Focus…Axel!

I tell myself as the man comes to a halt a few meters away from the border, not stepping into our territory, his gigantic feet digging into the soil as his calculative eyes scan the area, I watch carefully, telling my warriors to wait for my signal through the mind link for I know what this man is doing, he is not here to attack, yet, he is here to talk.

So now they want to negotiate? I bare my teeth at the bastard while letting out a low growl, warning him not to step closer.

“The girl!” harsh brown eyes collide with my gray ones as the giant calmly states his demand, his voice loud enough for everyone to listen even when he wasn’t screaming, the dominance in it making me inwardly raise a brow, he is of leaders’ material, I can see it as clearly as I can hear it, not just that, but only a man who is confident in his abilities would stand alone at the front and dare order us, this one is tough, be careful and don’t attack until I tell you to, I once again order my warriors who are itching for the bastard’s blood but know better than to disobey me.

He addressed me, even when the Alphas of the other packs are present on the battlefield as well, I think as I narrow my eyes at him, he knows who I am, and he chose to address me, but I am not a fool to change back into my human form just to talk to him, instead, I give the order to Liam who still hasn’t shifted yet to step forward, I wished it was Ray but the fucker isn’t here yet and I am starting to think that maybe something happened to him.

“The girl you want for the one we want, hand us the traitor you are keeping and you can have your little wolf back!” I watch carefully hoping to see any reaction from the giant once Liam announces our demand, I don’t give a fuck about Leora at this point, and I am not here to exchange hostages, nevertheless, if they are keeping that traitor alive then there must be a reason for it, after all, she is the cursed child with the ability to conjure the army of the dead, which could be their plan all along, a plan I cannot allow to see the daylight.

The other girl however, the scarred wolf, seems important to them, she must be for they have withheld from attacking us for a whole month just because they couldn’t free her, they didn’t wish to risk her safety, and even when I am not planning on handing them such an important asset, a little mind game to unsettle them and gain the witches some extra time to be done with their ritual and escort the humans back to safety is a good move right now.

If Liam’s words affected the giant he didn’t show it, I think as I watch him carefully, and nothing, not a single muscle twitched, as if he has lived through this moment thousands of times that it became dull and expected, only a man who outlived every battle and every monster is capable of having such calmness, but that is not what I focus on, it is the way the air thickens with that eerie feeling, death and danger, he is near, I think, his giant might not be affected but the reaper certainly is.

“You are in no position to call for conditions, dog! you hand back the girl, unscratched and unharmed, or we will get her ourselves once we are done with you!” arrogant fucker, I think as I tell Liam to hold his ground and not allow himself to be affected by the giant’s words or the eerie presence of the reaper who is still refusing to show himself.

“Be our guest!” Liam smirks as he opens his arms wide, my wolves growling and stomping their clawed paws on the ground, showing their eagerness to fight and thirst for blood.

“Are you sure you will not regret your words, boy?” the giant tilts his head as the eerie presence gets closer, as if he is breathing down our necks, right when several wolves, bears and even vampires with bright red eyes and silver weaponry step forward, I stare at them with shock, the shifters are huge and ragged, looking like wild beasts that know nothing better than how to kill, but the vampires…how can they step in daylight?

These fuckers knew all along what they are going to be dealing with and they came armed and prepared, unlike us, and this is our first fatal mistake, our lack of data, the northern forest has been a mystery since I can remember, and the only time it was breached was when my father allied himself with everyone to save me, an alliance that cost him a lot and cost us so many lives, we knew that it was filled with monsters, just that they didn’t work together.

And they are here now, and sure enough, they didn’t come to negotiate, the same as we didn’t, the fucker is only trying to insure the girl is still safe and trying to get us to reveal as much information about her whereabouts as possible before striking, their prime goal doesn’t seem to annihilate us, but to save their friend, this is useful, something I profoundly respect, yes, but I am not here to respect them, and unlike them, my prime goal is indeed to annihilate them.

“Go back to the pack house and get the girl, make sure to tie a small surprise around her throat!” this will provoke them, and I hope they would like the sight of their precious little wolf’s head being blasted in front of their eyes, I think as I order three warriors through the mind link, they are at the very back and the rest of my pack starts howling and shifting to cover for them, yeah, the fuckers might have diversity, but that cannot defeat discipline, not when it comes to battle.

I know that this is cruel and that it would probably cost me my best friend, but I have to do it, we will never be safe as long as they live, and my sister can never find rest in the afterlife as long as her murderer is still alive, my mate, my pack, it is either our survival or theirs.

‘Prepare yourselves for docking!’ I command through the mind link, no longer wishing to continue with this futile conversation, the enemy is here, the war is here, and death is here, no amount of words can change that.

There are so many of them, but with our alliances, the other packs’ wolves, the vampires, and the witches, the numbers are on our side, furthermore, they are not truly a pack, just a bunch of deserters, fugitives, and rogues coming together, they lack discipline, their formation is aleatory and I doubt they can mind link the way we can, the only true advantage they have against us is the reaper who is still hiding in the shadows, and for the first time, my mind relaxes and fully approves of bringing the humans along to use their essence against him.

We can win, we have to! I think as I let out a vicious growl that startles the giant who takes a small step back, leaning slightly forward, ready to attack whoever comes at him, my wolves growl alongside me as they charge forward, our formation steady and strategic, scatter them and break their poorly formed lines without extravagantly stepping into their territory, after all, the goal here is to distract them enough for the witches to play their trick and then lure the monster into our lands where he would be trapped, and for that, I will need the girl.

I hate staying behind, in all our previous battles, I have always led my warriors into every battle, and I hate staying behind as I watch my wolves engaging with the monsters, but I have to stay behind for when he appears, the battle starts without introductions as all warriors go for the kill, I bite hard as I watch the way our opponents fight, they are agile and strong, and more keep on coming, but my warriors are holding their ground well enough, I give the signal for the shooters hiding up in the trees, a dick move I know but everything is fair in love and war, the human rifles with silver bullets proved themselves to be of immense worth as the intruders didn’t even know what hit them, I watch with cautious satisfaction as they scatter and try to hide behind the trees while still fighting my warriors, the sight making my insides itch to join the battle, but it is not yet time.

“What is going on?” I hear the faint voice coming from behind me, a decent distance away, but not far enough to be considered safe, fuck, the humans have already realized that something was a miss, which would have been completely understandable considering how loud the battle is, but the witches are supposed to be shielding them from everything, including the noise.

“What is happening over there?”

“God! What are those!” I hear a woman shrieking in absolute horror while the rest join with their terrified screams and curses, fuck! Those old hags couldn’t even do this right, and I want for nothing more than to go there and see for myself what they are doing as rancid intuition starts brewing inside me, but I know I cannot leave the battlefield, not before taking him down!

And I cannot do that while the bastard keeps on hiding like a little bitch!

With an exasperated growl, I charge forward, going straight at the giant whose hands are tightened around both of Liam’s jaws, ready to snap them apart, my friend whimpers in pain and I answer with an angry growl, as I speed forward, but I am not fast enough as I watch my friend being murdered in front of my own eyes in such way, and red rage takes over as I charge at the giant with all my might, my movements faster than him as he is not able to evade me, my jaws snap shut around his shoulder, his blood seeps through the wounds and into my mouth, tasting exactly like sweet vengeance, he gasps in pain while trying to push me off him, his giant fists landing on head and back like hammers but I refuse to let go without a descent chunk of his flesh as well as his life between my jaws, but a loud siren makes me jump off the giant in the last second as he shifts into his beastly form, and if he was huge before, then he is fucking gigantic now, I think as I quickly evade his razor sharp claws, the adrenaline in my body skyrocketing as I battle against the beast, using his size against him as I am way swifter and more flexible, evading his every attack while aiming for his neck, for as much as the warrior in me enjoys this fight, I know I have to save my strength for the real monster…

“Let us Go! Please!” the voice of a woman begging followed by her tortured scream reaches me and I am immediately filled with terror, fuck! Did he get to them already? I think as deliver evade another blow from the bear and then push my body with all my might into him, knocking him on the ground before running towards the humans, fuck! The bastard will probably think that I am running away from him, but I cannot let my pride cloud my judgment, I need to make sure the humans are safe, and they don’t sound so from how loud they are screaming…

These are not the cries the horror, they are the cries of pain…the thought makes me run faster only to find myself in a circle of fire, bolts of magic flying all around me as humans fall one by the other while the rest run around like headless hens, my mind freezes in my skull as the sounds of their screams, the growls of battle fade away and all I can hear is the sound of witches chanting…

Why the fuck are they chanting?

And why are humans dying? Why is the soil soaked with their blood?

Why is there fire all around us?

“Fucking move! You idiot!” I tell myself, begging me to move, to save the innocent lives, the children, God! There are so many of them, half burnt and lying on the ground with sliced throats, weeping mothers screaming at their corpses, men shielding their wives with their bodies as the invisible blades tear through their flesh and flames melt their skin, and I beg myself again, to save them, to stop this massacre, to fucking move…

But I can’t…moving means accepting, and I can’t accept, I can’t…yet something else moves, a shadow from hell, he moves with a speed I cannot even begin to understand, the witches halt their chanting and starts attacking it, screaming one curse after the other.

And…I look, my sanity receiving another blow right when the black beast halts and looks at me, but it is not the absolutely grotesque sight of him or his aura that scares me…no, it is the fact that I instantly feel the pull of the bond, the one that stuns him as much as it stuns me…

You can only feel a bond with three kinds of people…

A mate…

A pack member who is sworn to serve you…

And family…