Run Little Wolf

by G. Bailey

  “Be safe,” I say and press my lips against his. He kisses me back slowly before I step away, and Colton pulls me into his arms, kissing my forehead.

  “Keep each other safe, promise?” I ask him, and he nods, looking over my head at Nikoli.

  “I will. As long as you are safe, I will fight to make sure you stay that way,” he tells me and then kisses me. A kiss that shouldn’t be public and Gold starts wolf whistling. I laugh and pull away from a smiling Colt.

  “Let’s go; they are coming,” Gold says, moving closer to me, and Nikoli nods before walking through rows of wolves with Colton at his side. Seeing both my mates walking away is difficult; every part of me wants to run after them. I follow Gold through the front door, back into the house, and we walk towards the large training rooms behind the house.

  “He will be okay and so will we, but just in case, I want you to have this,” Gold says, stopping outside the room and holding out a dagger for me. It has a black leather handle and a silver blade.

  “Thanks, but I think I would be better off shifting,” I tell her.

  “You would, but I still want you to have this.”

  Gold doesn’t wait for a reply as she opens the training room doors, and the faces of many women and children in the pack look back at us. Snow walks over with Arisa at her side, a worried expression crossing her face, but she smiles when Arisa runs up to me, and I hug her. I look to see Light being held tightly in the arms of a vampire that I don’t know, an older woman who came with all the vampires yesterday. I will have to remember to ask Colton who she is, but Light seems to trust her.

  “Are the silly pigs going to go away soon?” Arisa asks me, and Snow answers before I can.

  “Arisa, why don’t you go and play with the other children over there?”

  She nods, letting me put her down, and runs over to the ten or so children seated around a big pile of toys. The women are spread out on the floor throughout the room; some reading and some attempting to do anything other than look worried. I turn my head towards the window when I hear a loud growl, the sound echoing around the room.

  “They will make it,” Gold says, holding my hand. We spend the next two hours pacing the room, waiting for any news, but we don’t get any. I hear growls and loud bangs, but feel nothing other than a slight bit of anger from Nikoli and worry from Colton. Suddenly, a woman screams out and holds her chest, bursting into tears as Snow runs over.

  “Her mate died. They say you can feel it,” Gold whispers to me. I stand up and walk away from her, going to stand by the doors and hope no one else will die. The woman’s loud cries are something I will never forget.

  “Someone is coming,” Gold says as she walks over to me, stopping at my side by the door. I don’t think as I pull the door open and step out into the corridor, expecting to see one of my pack.

  “Little wolf…I’ve been looking for you,” the Hog shifter from the car park says, stopping a few steps away from me, with his two friends at his side.

  I place my finger against my lips, telling my sister to be quiet in the tree opposite me. I look down, seeing the men in their human forms, and some of them have already shifted into hogs. Disgusting creatures they are, with their large circle-shaped bodies, black hair sprinkled around them, and large sharp teeth. You can just about see their beady eyes under the long hair around their faces. I do a quick count, finding there are twenty of them here, and I can hear more coming through. I would guess that they split up and came into the pack in groups, like waves of attacks. I bet they sent the weakest in first and then the strongest will follow.

  “Oh, boys,” Belle says, before jumping out the tree with extremely fast speed and landing her swords into the backs of the two hogs underneath her. The rest of my family jumps out of the trees, killing them in similar ways or running after the ones who try to run away.

  “Attack!” I shout, jumping out my tree and lifting my own two swords. The three hogs near me charge, and I throw one of my swords straight into the head of one of the hogs, and use my other sword to slash at the legs of the hog that gets to me first. He squeals and falls to the ground; unfortunately, his massive body slams into mine and knocks me into the tree. I push him off me, just in time to see the other hog running at me, its head down and those sharp teeth aimed at my stomach. I jump into the air at the last second, and the hog slams its teeth into the tree, getting itself stuck.

  “Colton!” I hear my sister scream, a scream filled with pain, and I scan the trees for her. My heart nearly stops when I see her being held down by a naked man, two boars at his side. One of her swords is lodged in her stomach. I see red when I run over, cutting off the head of the man holding her down, and the hogs turn to me. I pick a dagger out of my belt, holding it at my side as they both charge at me. Hogs are stupid and don’t even think about me jumping in the air, then down on top of them. I slide both my sword and dagger into the heads of the hogs, pulling them out and running over to my sister. I pull the sword out, replacing it with my hand as I hold down on the wound. I need to get her out of here.

  “Colton,” I hear Nikoli behind me, and I turn to see him running over, with Tam and Erik at his sides.

  “Let me, I can heal her,” Tam says, pushing me out the way after I nod, and he places his hands on her stomach.

  “We killed thirty of them,” Nikoli tells me.

  “There were twenty here.” I look around at the bodies that my family have killed.

  “She will be ok, but I need to get her back to the house and heal her further. Apparently, I can’t heal vampires as well as wolves,” Tam says gently.

  “Ok. I will cover you back to the house. Thank you for saving my sister. I will owe you a debt,” I tell Tam.

  “You do not; you’re pack to us now,” Tam replies, as he lifts Belle in his arms.

  “Run in front of me. I will sort anyone out that comes close to you,” I tell Tam.

  “Go!” Nikoli shouts, and I turn around to see at least twenty hogs running at us. Nikoli shifts, into a massive black wolf, and I turn around, pushing Tam’s back and urging him towards the house. He runs fast, and I pull two more daggers out my belt as I look around. Five hogs race out of the woods in front of us, just as we see the house, and surround us. Tam places Belle on the ground, and we stand in front of her on either side.

  “Here.” I offer him one of my daggers.

  “For the Forest pack,” Tam says, nodding at me.

  “For the Forest pack,” I repeat his words, just as the hogs charge at us.

  “How did you get in here?” I ask, watching as the man smirks and steps forward, just as Gold comes out of the room and shuts the doors behind her. I can’t believe these hogs got past my mates, the vampires, and all the wolves. Something is wrong.

  “Oh good. I was getting bored,” she says, seconds before she pulls a dagger out her belt and throws it at the hog who spoke. Unfortunately, seconds before it would have stabbed him in the heart, he catches it. I watch in shock as she jumps into the air, unclipping another dagger and landing on the back of one of the hogs. She quickly jams the dagger into his throat, before jumping back and knocking the legs out from under him with one kick. I watch in shock, not used to seeing her move like this; I didn’t know how dangerous she was.

  “Your friend seems busy,” a voice says behind me, and big arms wrap around my chest.

  “No!” I cry, remembering the dagger in my hand. I slam it into the man behind me and hear his deep gasp of pain seconds before his arms fall away. I run around him, towards the back doors. I make the mistake of looking back when I get to the door and see the man shift before my eyes, into a massive hog. It has two large teeth and a big round stomach covered in black fur. Its beady eyes glare at me and blood pours from one of his front legs where the dagger must have hit him. I pull the door open and shut it, before running into the woods. My wolf presses against my mind, begging me to take over. When I hear the door slammed open behind me, I stop running and do the only sensible thin
g I can think of. I shift myself, and the moment my wolf takes over, she charges at the hog. The wolf knows it’s weak and smells the blood he has lost, which only makes her angrier, wanting to kill him more. The hog slams into me, both of us falling to the forest floor, and he stands up, charging over to me as my wolf shakes off the hit. I lean down and let out a loud growl, which vibrates around the forest, and I know my wolf is calling for Nikoli; for our mate. I call in my mind for Colton too, shouting for him, even when I know he won’t be able to hear me. Only seconds later, a louder, darker growl responds behind me, and then a large wolf presses against my side as he walks over. I don’t take my eyes off the hog, but I would know Nikoli anywhere, in any form.

  “He hurt you. This is my kill, Harper,” Nikoli says in my mind.

  “All yours,” I reply, hearing Nikoli only growl back as a response.

  I let my alpha finish the fight, watching as he jumps on the hog and kills him quickly. I mentally will myself to shift back, feeling the cold air of the forest and blinking my eyes open. I smile at Nikoli’s wolf as I try to cover myself up a little and look back at the house. I nudge Nikoli forward and walk again, stepping over the broken back door. In the corridor, I see three dead hogs at Gold’s feet, as she pulls a dagger out of one of them and wipes it on her thigh.

  “Here.” Snow comes out the room, shutting the door behind her, and offers me a male shirt. I pull it over my head, as she strokes Nikoli’s fur and Gold comes over.

  “Congratulations on winning the fight alpha, and our new alpha female,” Gold says with a wink and Nikoli howls loudly. The sound of the pack howling back and the joy I can feel in the howls will be something I won’t forget.

  “Where is Colt?” I ask, starting to get panicked.

  “He was bringing Tam and Belle back to the house; she was hurt,” Nikoli says, and I run around Gold towards the front door. I can only hear the sound of my heart pounding as I pull the front door open. I just know Colton is this way; I can feel him.

  “Colt!” I shout, when I see him walking out of the forest with Belle in his arms, Tam limping at his side. His eyes light up when he sees me, and I run straight to him. He is covered in blood, as is Tam, but they don’t look hurt. I can’t sense Colton in any pain.

  “You okay?” I ask, breathless, and Tam pulls Belle into his arms.

  “I need to get her inside, she has been out too long,” he says.

  “I can carry her,” Colton offers.

  “I’m healed, just sore. Don’t worry,” Tam tells him, and starts walking towards the house. Colton pulls me close to him, kissing me hard and resting his forehead against mine.

  “We won, and we are safe,” he says in a whisper.

  “We did,” I say.

  “You look incredible,” Nikoli says, as he strolls into the room and looks down at me in my long, tight red dress. It's strange to wear a red dress when the night I got bitten, I wore red, and that night changed my whole life. I glance over at Nikoli, who is dressed in a full suit, his hair styled neatly to the side. He looks so handsome. We lost five wolves in the fight, but Nikoli said we were still lucky not to lose anymore. We had a funeral for them and grieved their loss, as did the mates they left behind.

  “So do you. I was mad to let you out of bed this morning,” I say, knowing that the last two months since the fight, all we have done is stay in bed, spending every moment together, with Colton too.

  “Wow, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Colton says, walking out the bathroom, dressed in a suit, with his hair perfectly in place.

  “Is that a compliment?” I chuckle when he kisses me and leans back.

  “Definitely,” he replies.

  “We can go straight back to bed after the ball,” Nikoli tells us. I mentally sigh, but keep a smile on my face for him as I walk over.

  “I wish it was over already then,” I say as I lean my head on his chest. The ball is an annual event for different shifter packs to meet up and make alliances. I’m interested in meeting all the other kinds of shifters tonight, and Nikoli is nervous because the royal family is coming too. We haven’t told them about the vampires living here, or the mating. It isn’t against the rules, but it’s still going to be an awkward conversation. The ball hasn’t been held at our pack for fifty years, and the pack has been running around trying to get everything perfect for tonight. Nikoli invited Colton and his entire coven to permanently live here after the fight. They are staying in the house for now, but they have taken some land just inside the pack lands, and started building a house.

  “I’m going to check on Belle before joining you in a bit,” Colt says, sadness lacing his tone. Belle hasn’t woken up from the fight, and we don’t know what’s wrong with her. Tam has taken it personally that he can’t heal her. He spends all day, every day, trying to figure out how to wake her up. Colt and his family aren’t coping well with the fact Belle is ill. We all think there was something on the sword she was stabbed with; some kind of poison or magic.

  “Okay, give her a kiss from me,” I tell Colt, and he nods before walking out. I really hope she wakes up. Despite not knowing the vampire very well, she still fought for my pack.

  “I hope she recovers soon. I don’t want any more losses for the pack,” Nikoli says, and it’s his way of saying he is worried about Colt, not that he would admit it. I take his hand, letting him lead us out of his room. We walk down the stairs, which are even decorated, with roses around the bannisters. When we get to the bottom of the stairs, we take a left, straight into the ballroom, which is full of our pack and some other people. Nikoli told me earlier that we should stand by the door and greet people as they come in. I smile and wave at Gold as she walks in, dressed in a long gold dress that has a split all the way up to the top of her thigh.

  “Looking hot, Harper,” she says, causing me to chuckle.

  “Thank you for inviting us,” Nita says, walking in with Trevor and Light at her side. Light has a white dress on, with little crystals down the sides. She gives me a wave, with a cheeky small smile.

  “It was never an invite. You are part of my pack, my family now. Your place is here,” I tell them and Nikoli nods at me, in agreement. Nita gives me a broad smile, as does Trevor and Light, before they walk into the ball. We greet five couples – all wolves, I think – and then three men walk into the room. They nod at Nikoli and me, and I notice straightaway how they all look similar. They must be triplets or something. They are huge, with brown hair and expensive suits.

  “Welcome. It’s been a long time since we last spoke,” Nikoli says, and holds a hand out to the man in the middle. He has a massive muscular body and a cheeky smile.

  “Ah, I remember. We got drunk and had an interesting night. But I see those days are behind you now. You have a lovely mate,” he says, and Nikoli laughs.

  “Yes, this is Harper. Harper, these are the annoying triplets and the three alphas of the Bearlay pack.” Suddenly, it clicks.

  “So, you’re bears?” I ask, and the one on the left laughs.

  “Good guess,” he tells me, looking around the room.

  “We heard about your troubles. We could have helped if you’d called on us,” the one on the left says, his tone serious.

  “You know other packs aren’t allowed to get involved with mate disputes,” Nikoli answers.

  “We should get out the way. The royal family was just behind us,” the guy on the right says.

  “We should catch up soon, but you have an alliance with us,” the middle one says, and then they all walk into the room as Nikoli nods, stepping back and placing his hand on my back. Just inside the room, Gold walks past us, and all three bears watch her carefully, then look at each other. They quickly follow her over to a table, and she crosses her arms as they try to talk to her. It’s amusing, but I wonder what they want with Gold. They seemed to know who she was straightaway, and she does not look impressed.

  “Don’t you both look amazing,” Snow says, walking in with Erik and Arisa nex
t to her. Snow looks lovely in a tight white dress, while Erik is in a suit. Arisa is wearing a pretty pink dress and runs up to me.

  “You look like Little Red Riding Hood,” Arisa tells me, as I kneel down to hear her.

  “We do have a lot in common.” I wink at her, and she laughs.

  “My mate,” a deep, loud male voice says from the doorway. Arisa stops laughing, and I look up to see a man standing next to an old posh-looking couple. He was the one who spoke, and it’s clear he is the prince, judging by the suit and crown he has on. The prince is staring at Snow, who steps close to Erik when he holds a hand out to her.

  “I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken,” she says, and I let Arisa go as she runs over to her mum.

  “No, I’m not,” the prince says, looking between Erik and Snow. Erik growls slightly, and Snow shakes her head, looking away. It's only then that I notice how silent the room is.

  “You are,” Snow snaps back and picks Arisa up. I watch as she storms off into the crowd of people and towards the other doors in the room.

  “She is your mate? The one you told me about?” the prince asks Erik, who watches him closely and then looks over at Snow.

  “Yes, mine,” he says, and storms off after Snow and Arisa.

  “What just happened?” I ask Nikoli quietly, just before the royal family walks over to us.

  “Trouble, my little wolf,” he replies.

  Hello, and thank you for buying my book! You’re amazing, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support. A review would be much appreciated, and I would love you for it, as every review helps me a little bit, and I love reading them all! This is Book One of the Forest Pack series, and the next one will be Gold’s story. It’s a reverse harem with some bears, and maybe a certain rogue wolf. The third book will be Snow’s story. I also plan to write a story for Arisa and Light when they are grown up too.