The Alpha 6: Protect. Procreate. Prevail., page 27
I knew from personal experience that a shoulder injury dramatically affected wolves during a fight, and it would weaken them majorly. So I raked my claws across the wolf’s shoulders, arms, and chest, with the hopes that my opponent would lose his balance.
I felt something warm trickle down my head, so I assumed the wolf had managed to tear my ear, but as long as it was still attached to my head, then I didn’t give a fuck. I completely ignored the blood and continued to slash the wolf as much as I could.
Howls, yips, and growls filled the sky all around me, and I occasionally caught sight of the mountain lions working as a team to tackle their chosen wolf to the ground, but I couldn’t focus on anything properly just yet. I knew I had to overpower this wolf, and his strength prevented me from attacking the way I usually did. So I had to change it up somehow.
But then, as I raked my paws across the wolf’s shoulder blade, one of my claws became hooked around a tendon. The wolf let out a harrowing whine as I snapped the tendon with a flick of my paw, and he lost his balance for a split second. But it was just enough time for me to take over.
I grabbed the wolf by the scruff of the neck, shook my head forcefully from side to side, and used every ounce of strength to force the wolf onto the ground. Then I towered over him like a dark, threatening cloud, placed one paw on his ribs, and pierced his face with my teeth.
The wolf wrestled against me, and he tried to push my face away with his paws, but the injury to his shoulder limited his movement. He was no longer as strong as he was to begin with. His black-and-gray fur was coated in his blood, and the more blood he lost, the weaker his swipes and attacks became.
Growl after growl formed in my throat as I sliced his face with my teeth, and I never once removed my paws from the wolf’s body, so he was pinned in one place. The wolf whined in pain and howled in anger, but he continued to fight, and it started to feel like he wasn’t going to give up, no matter how much blood he lost.
My teeth tore away so much flesh from the wolf’s face that I started to see his cheekbones underneath. His jaws were covered with a single flap of skin, a cut was only centimeters away from his left eye, and tufts of gray-and-black fur littered the grass beneath him. His pink tongue lolled from his mouth, and I knew it wasn’t going to be long before the wolf died, but I couldn’t physically stop beating the motherfucker to a bloody pulp.
There was too much fury in my veins as I faced the enemy wolf, and a primal urge deep in my gut told me I couldn’t allow this fucker to just fade away.
It was my sole purpose to destroy him.
Once I had finished with his face, I turned my attention back to his chest. I pounded and raked my claws through his solid muscles, and the anger that roared through my veins was enough to keep me going until the very end. I never wanted to stop, and it was immensely satisfying to watch the wolf gradually die as I carved out his chest until his ribs and internal organs were on display.
But then a devilish idea came to mind, and I howled into the air as I spotted his thumping heart hidden within his chest cavity.
As I kept the wolf still with one paw, I used another to smash through the thick rib bones, and then I pounded away at his heart and gouged the flesh with my claws. One of his lungs popped in the process, but it seemed as though I had tunnel vision, and I couldn’t take my eyes away from the bloody organ until the light left the wolf’s orange eyes.
Part of me wanted to stand back and appreciate my work as soon as the wolf had died, but this was only the very start of the fight, and there would be time to take in our artwork after we won.
Before I moved on to my second victim, I glanced around the field to make sure my pack and omegas were still okay. I even spotted two rogues working together, as well as two mountain lions. I also noticed that two more of Theo’s wolves had already died, on top of the seventy or so the shooters had already taken out, so at least it was now an even fight.
But then everything changed as I heard a heart-wrenching screech coming from somewhere behind me.
It sounded like a woman was screaming, but I knew that wasn’t possible unless someone had shifted back.
I quickly turned around as I tried to find the source of the noise, and that was when I noticed one of the mountain lions was doing their best to shuffle away from the wolf who’d targeted them. The markings on the werecat helped me to tell that it was Abigail. She had one of her front limbs curled up into her chest, and her tan fur was almost completely covered in blood.
Abigail hobbled backward as she slashed and hissed at the threatening wolf. She was doing everything she could to stay away, and also to stay alive, but from the state of her injuries and the amount of blood she was losing, it wouldn’t have taken long for the wolf to kill her.
My vision turned red as I eyed up the wolf, but as I began to sprint toward them, the wolf leaped into the air and landed firmly on top of the beaten Abigail. Her painful shrieking became louder and louder as the wolf stomped down onto her broken leg, and the fact that Abigail barely fought back made me think that perhaps she had given up hope. Perhaps she knew she was going to die, and there was nothing she could have done to stop that.
But that only made me even more determined to save her life.
As soon as I reached them, I slammed my shoulder into the wolf with enough force to throw him off Abigail. I stood over the injured mountain lion like my limbs were a cage, and I let out a rumbling growl to warn the wolf not to take another step forward. Abigail was mine, and I wasn’t going to allow him to stand there and slaughter one of my betas.
Just like the previous wolf had done, this one stood a few steps away from me. He lowered his face toward the ground and looked me up and down like he was trying to work out who I was. If the anosmiacs still worked, then he wouldn’t have known I was an alpha, but I didn’t care if he knew that or not.
I was still going to kill him.
As the wolf took a few steps back to prepare, I carefully stepped over Abigail so I didn’t hurt her. But I never took my eyes away or turned my back on my enemy. Anything could have happened in that split second, and I had too much to lose.
The wolf tried to circle me, but I stayed between him and Abigail, and I used that short delay to look out for any signs of weakness. He wasn’t limping, and he didn’t have any visible cuts or wounds, so I couldn’t see any obvious weaknesses. All I could do was make sure I was stronger than him, and perhaps if I could trick him somehow. I could get him onto the ground before he turned the tables on me.
But then he suddenly lost his patience, and the wolf launched himself at me before I could blink. His front paws landed on my shoulders, and the two of us tumbled to the ground as we tried to make the fight go the way we wanted it to. His teeth sliced my already wounded ear as I grabbed his neck in my mouth, and our paws pounded and slashed against each other.
Then the wolf somehow managed to roll me onto my front, and he pressed against my back with almost enough force to break my spine in two. An aching pain rippled through my body, and had he continued that move for much longer, there was no doubt in my mind that he could have killed me there and then.
I bucked him off as much as I could, and I tried to force myself up, but the wolf was far too strong. He had me pinned to the ground, and I couldn’t have been in a more vulnerable position if I tried.
Jesse! Blair suddenly shouted. Jesse, hold on!
I couldn’t see where Blair was, she could have been on the other side of the field for all I knew, but the simple sound of my omega’s sweet voice gave me the willpower to fight back.
I couldn’t allow this bastard wolf to kill me, and I couldn’t allow them to slaughter my entire family and take my omegas back as a gift for Theo Finch.
Theo had murdered my parents, and now it was my turn to kill his own family.
I let out a ferocious growl as I applied all my strength into my paws, and then I stood up suddenly and managed to just about knock the wolf away from me. He still had his claws and teeth hooked into my back, but at least that was better than him breaking my spine.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my beautiful lynx racing across the field, and there was a heavy dose of determination and anger in her cyan eyes.
The wolf was far too interested in me to notice Blair’s arrival, so as she leaped into the air, Blair smashed into the wolf’s back and slashed his shoulders with her claws.
The two of them rolled around like the wolf and I had done, but now that I was free from his sharp claws, it was two against one, and the wolf was as good as dead.
I ignored the stinging pain in my muscles as I assisted my mighty omega, and we worked as a brilliant team as we got the wolf onto his back. Blair sliced into the wolf’s chest and stomach while I aimed for his jugular. The wolf constantly kicked and pounded us with his paws, but every time his paw smacked into my face, I simply bit down harder.
His bitter-tasting blood pooled in my mouth, and chunks of his flesh and fur collected between my teeth, but I ignored all of that as I tried to grab onto his larynx.
Then the wolf let out a gargled howl as my teeth hooked around a thick muscle, and I pulled and pulled until his larynx snapped like an elastic band. The wolf’s head was barely hanging on by a thread, and the weight in his attacks had simmered down completely. Blair and I could have easily killed this wolf by ourselves, but I shot her a knowing look, and she replied with an evil grin.
Neither of us were going to walk away until the deed was done.
I pressed down hard on the wolf’s head, and Blair continued to slash the opponent’s stomach into pieces. It felt amazing to complete something as gruesome as this with one of my omegas, and neither of us stopped to even think until the wolf’s head slumped over to one side, and he stared sightlessly into the ground.
Good work, I told Blair as we stepped back from our victim. I couldn’t have done that without you.
I couldn’t let you have all the fun, Alpha. The lynx winked, but then her playful expression dropped into a look of pure sadness. Is she okay? Is she… alive?
I turned my head to see that Blair was looking at Abigail, and the mountain lion hadn’t moved a single muscle since I’d saved her. She was still hunched over onto her side, but her limbs and tail were limp against the ground.
Fuck, I growled. Abigail?
I couldn’t tell if we were mentally connected yet, but I hoped for the best and continued to call out her name as Blair and I rushed over.
Abigail had her eyes closed, and she kept her severely broken limb against her chest for safety. I let out a sigh of relief as I heard a weak heartbeat, but it should have been much stronger and faster than that.
Abigail? I tried again as I brushed my head softly against hers. Can you hear me?
Jesse? Abigail thought faintly, almost like she was asleep. Is… is that you?
Yes, I’m here, I said.
Then Abigail opened her turquoise eyes and blinked rapidly. She lifted her head and then tried to put weight on her uninjured limbs, but I quickly put a stop to that.
Just stay where you are, I told her. You need to rest, but you’re going to be okay. I promise.
I… I think I’ve got broken ribs, too, the werecat whined in pain.
Don’t worry, I’ll have Dr. Stenton check you over as soon as we get back to Monroe, I replied. But you just need to rest for now.
Am I going to die, Jesse? Abigail asked.
No, I said as I licked one of her wounds. I won’t allow that to happen, I promise.
The scared look in Abigail’s eyes caused the anger to return, and I stared across the open field as I watched the fight continue.
That one wolf alone had almost killed Abigail, and it scared the fuck out of me that she might not have the strength to make it back to Monroe. She definitely wouldn’t survive if a second wolf came across her.
I had even been close to death, so if one wolf had that ability, then I was almost certain the final thirty wolves could do the same thing. Especially when it became harder for the shooters to fire their rifles without almost hitting one of my pack members at the same time.
I couldn’t allow that to happen.
It was hard enough watching Abigail struggle, let alone watching multiple members fighting to survive.
It was my job as their alpha to protect them and to make sure everyone came home at the end of a fight.
My omegas, my family, my friends, and even my unborn child were out on that battlefield, and as I watched everyone doing their best to fight, kill, and survive, I instantly knew what I had to do.
The scenes before me caused my blood to boil, so I allowed a howl to form in my throat, threw my head back, and then released the cryptic tune to blow into the air.
Fortunately, I was now connected with everyone on the field, but Theo Finch’s wolves let out pained cries as their knees buckled, and they fell to the ground.
Some of my pack members seemed slightly confused, but Benji caught on to what was happening.
Jesse’s using ‘Deafening Cry’! he cheered. This is our chance to win, guys. C’mon! Shooters, reload your rifles! It’s time to kick ass and chew bubbbbbblllleeee guuuuummmm!
I knew we had roughly a minute before the wolves would recover from the ear-splitting sound, but we needed more time than that for us to win. So as my pack snarled and pounced onto their prey, I continued to howl in order to distract the rival betas.
There was no better sight than watching my group work as a team as they snapped the wolves’ necks and tore flesh straight from their bones. I even spotted Marley and Jackson using a few interesting moves Aiden had taught them, which essentially consisted of them ripping the wolves’ legs straight from their sockets, until it was nothing but a giant wolf drumstick.
I never moved away from Abigail the entire time, but as the wolves quickly died, more and more of my pack stood around as they looked for something to do. The islanders sat and laid beside Abigail, and they licked her wounds as best they could.
It didn’t take long before there was only one wolf left standing, and my four omegas dragged the bastard over toward me.
Jesse. Hailey’s eyes seemed to send me a smile as she realized she and I could now communicate mentally. Would you like to do the honors?
It was a difficult question for me to answer, because I wanted to feel the wolf die beneath my paws, but it also turned me on to watch my omegas play with their food. Or rather, tease and torture their prey.
Please, be my guest. I smirked. Make me proud.
Of course, Alpha. Nikita winked.
This motherfucker won’t know what hit him, Arielle said with a slight shrug.
My four omegas took a limb each, and they tore the appendages clean from the wolf’s body as they grunted with satisfaction.
The pack stood around and watched as the omegas growled and applied finishing moves of their own. It was the first time I had seen Hailey fight, and she seriously impressed me when she chomped down onto the wolf’s face, pulled his cheek off in one go, and then used all her weight to break the wolf’s jaw until his face was nothing but a mangled mess.
Please, Jesse, will you join me? Hailey asked as she looked up at me. It’s only right that you and I end this bastard together.
Our audience yipped and barked in celebration as I stepped forward, and then I quickly brushed my face against Hailey’s as the two of us took a hold of the wolf’s neck.
Then, with Nikita, Blair, and Arielle holding onto the wolf, Hailey and I tugged with all our might until the wolf’s head popped off like the cork on a champagne bottle.
The lifeless, bloody head sat at my feet, and I looked down with a grin as I stared into the dead eyes of the final werewolf beta.
Once again, my pack had won, and given my new added abilities, I knew we would only be getting stronger from here on out.
Chapter 17
Holy shit.
What a battle.
A collection of thoughts ran through my mind as I kicked the decapitated head away from me. I knew there was nothing we could have done with the one hundred slaughtered wolves that covered the entire field and forest, but I really hoped the harsh stench and sight of the bloody carcasses wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
However, given the state Abigail was in, I knew those precious minutes needed to be spent on something much more important, and I could focus on the smaller issues later. I had to get Abigail to Dr. Stenton immediately, and it wasn’t like he was only five minutes away.
Spencer and Daniel’s groups had returned to the scene, and everyone laid around Abigail to offer her as much support as possible.
Jesse, Hailey said as she brushed Abigail’s head with hers. How are we going to get her back to Monroe? I doubt she’ll have the energy to shift, and there’s no way we can carry her in her current form.
I laid down in front of the injured werecat as I tried to evaluate her wounds. Now that her fellow islanders had licked away the blood, a gaping wound was spotted on her side, and she had more scratches that ran up and down all four of her limbs. Her heart rate was still slower than it should have been, and her breathing was shallow and labored, too.
I wished more than anything that we had a car or some sort of vehicle we could use to transport Abigail, and I even found myself glancing up and down the field like something was going to magically appear in front of me. The only way to get her back to Monroe was to carry her, and although I could have probably carried a fully-grown mountain lion if I was in my hybrid form, it would take us ten times longer to get there.
But then an idea came to mind.
I didn’t know this area of land well enough to know about any secret passageways, but I knew the forests that surrounded Monroe like the back of my hand. There was an off-road route that ran straight through it, and it certainly wouldn’t be enjoyable for Abigail, but at least it would take much less time for us to get to Dr. Stenton.
If we could just get Abigail to the field where Caleb’s patrol group was situated, then we could have someone meet us there with a car who could take us the rest of the way.
