Fight For The Highest Wolf Rank

by Valery C. Kincade

  Our plan was simple and based on what Alpha Bolder knew from fighting in the Royal Guards. His experience was crucial considering the rest of us were all either under 20 or never had to actually fight a real battle. We all went with it, agreeing with the logic that Bolder's plan posed. We had to forget about what ranks each of us had. We are a team right now, all equals, the only one above us being our Commander.

  Bolder was designated our Commander for this impromptu task force team and we followed his lead. Even our wolves agreed to set aside their Alpha dominance for this mission, and follow Bolder's lead.

  After going over the plan one last time, we divided into 3 teams, each having specific tasks. There is one person who stayed behind, Carla. Luke tells us about his sister preparing something similar to a fully stocked hospital room, just in case we might need it. I felt a bit of jealousy when Alpha Bolder praised them for thinking ahead, but indeed they were right, and it is a good idea. She was informed of the plan so we all were on the same page, knowing what to expect.

  Bolder, Luke and I are the first line of the attack, and bonus the search and rescue. I haven't said it out loud, but I intend to be the one that finds Samantha and take her out of there.

  Brian and Ryan (fitting, I know) are tasked with having our backs. If we don't see a wolf approaching, they need to warn us or defend us. If they see someone with a gun, they take them out. They are taking care of our blind spots and we trust they can do it without failing.

  Jennifer, Rudy and Carla, or the 'women and the elderly' how Brian tried to put it as a joke, earning himself a loud growl from Rudy and a smack over his head soon after. The rest of us tried very hard to cover our laugh. I felt guilty for laughing when my mate was in distress.

  Rudy was basically named the getaway driver. His task was to start driving straight to the pub where Luke's sister was waiting. I remembered her from the bar, so I let Bolder know she's alright, and I trust her. Jennifer has medical training, so she will be waiting in the car with Rudy.

  There are given clear and precise instructions to leave as soon as one of us brings Sam to the car. The rest of us will make our own way to The Hound after we're done here.

  So yeah, a bit anticlimactic, because we jumped right in it, announcing our not so friendly presence, and taking Marie's army by surprise. I bet you that half of those idiots that she co-opted to join her didn't think this was real, or didn't bother doing any research to see who they might go up against. Because, trust me, had they known they would go against Bolder, they would have thought twice before helping my cousin. I'm sure they saw an 18 year old rich bitch with money to throw, and not the calculated and vengeful person with resources that she actually is.

  Bolder killed half of them, mainly rogues, in the first 5 minutes, making way for us to get closer and closer to the bunker. I was looking around to see if I can spot Samantha or Marie, but no such luck yet. The other wolves we fought were clearly mercenaries. They showed more skill and intelligence, synchronizing their attacks and pausing to assess us and find weak spots. Saying that, they were still no match for us. It was then that I had to make my first kill, after one fucker managed to bite into hind leg, pissing Luder off and causing him to go ballistic. I didn't let myself get distracted by that, other than Brian, nobody else knew I had never killed another human or wolf before. I work my way towards a small door, leaving behind a few more lifeless bodies and sporting a few new bites and cuts. The worst is my left ear who bleeds a lot, way too fast for my healing to be able to close the wound. I shift into my human form because, smaller ears means a smaller injury. That did the trick, but left me exposed to fight against another pair of wolves. After I took one down I dodged the incoming bite from the second. I started to shift back into my wolf, when Brian joined the fight, holding the fucker off, yelling at me to go. I knew he must have noticed the door. Soon enough I slip from the fight, my instincts guiding me to find my mate.

  I found myself alone inside the bunker, coming face to face with 2 ugly mutts that shifted as soon as they saw me. I shift back, Luder ready to start dancing with these 2.

  Behind the ugliest of the mutts I spot another door. I can feel Samantha close yo me, so that had to be it. Deciding enough with the games, I snap the neck of the first one that jumps at me. Just like that, snap. His friend proves a bit more difficult to handle. We fought for a couple of minutes and he took a few bites of my back. I hiss in pain as patches of my fur are now missing, cold air slapping my exposed raw muscles. I overturned him swiftly and sliced his belly open with my sharp claws.

  His bowels are now hanging put of his abdomen. It's a fucking gruesome sight, definitely not for the faint hearted. I even supress the urge to throw up a little. Knowing he doesn't have much longer, I ask him about the girl they are keeping captive and his employer. Under the promise of a quick death, he told me that his employer is a man and he goes by the name Bailey. I connect the dots. So Marie didn't find everyone here herself, she got Mr Bailey to do it for her. That's kind of genius in an evil way, and Bailey has just earned himself a spot on my kill list, hiss sorry ass currently at number 1, Commander of Crescent Moon's army or not. He is a traitor in my book, and traitors don't deserve to live.

  I asked the dying wolf where those bastards were but, just as I suspected, they weren't here. Of course Marie fled, what I don't get is why. Maybe she thinks she's in over her head. I smirk at the thought of finding her and But Samantha is, I don't even need him to confirm me that, I can feel her closer, so I rush to open the door to the room that imprisons my mate.

  30 - Feral

  Jason

  I slam into the door not wasting any more time to get to my mate. As soon as I enter the small room, I see her in a corner, on the floor, knees gathered up to her chin. I feel more anger rising in me when I notice she is chained, like a fucking animal. There aren't even any windows, the only light in her room is the one coming through the door I just opened.

  Samantha's hair is a tangled mess, her face, her sweet, beautiful face is stained with tears and dirt, her eyes are swollen and there are big, dark circles around them. Her clothes are dirty and torn making my mind go to the worst scenarios of what could have happened to her. Guilt eats away at me, knowing that I should have protected her, I should have been next to her and never let anyone hurt her. Her ankles and her wrists have huge silver cuffs around them. For a brief second our eyes meet and I can see relief and hope sparkling deep into her soul. I rush towards her and rip the chains binding her. I don't even flinch when I touch the silver, but she does flinch when I touch her.

  Like a switch flipping inside her, Smantha turns rabid. She starts thrashing around, fighting me, screaming incoherent things in my face. I understand in this moment that she has been through more intense torture than any of us could have ever imagined. Marie.. Marie fucking broke her, she broke her mind, her spirit, because she couldn't break her physically. I try my best to soothe my mate, calm her down enough to get us out of here, but to no avail. I tried to explain who I am, tell her it's all going to be alright, that I only want to take her out of here and make sure she's alright. It's like nothing I say registers in her brain. She is beyond terrified, and let me tell you, a terrified Samantha is not something you want to mess with. She almost mauled my face off and punched me harder than Bolder ever did when we were fighting. I would be proud if that wouldn't keep me from saving her. I mind link Brian to get to Jennifer and take something that we can use to calm her down, sedating her if necessary. I just have to keep her safe until we can pick her up and get the hell out.

  I hear Bolder entering the compound and I can tell he's fighting off the ones that try to get to me and Smantha. It's not long and Brian and Bolder come inside just as I try to pick Samantha up bridal style. She slashes my face with her sharp claws again, and Brian stabs a syringe in her, uttering a quick 'I'm sorry, Luna', smirking at my not so pretty face.

  She relaxes instantly and second later her head drops signalling that she's fast asleep.
I release a quick breath and take her into my arms, Bolder making sure the way is clear and Brian having my back. Outside Luke is fighting with 2 wolves that just refuse to accept defeat. Brian goes to help him, but he quickly dismisses my Beta, telling him he's got it. I also notice Ryan close by, so we leave them to finish off and head to the awaiting car.

  Seeing us approach, Rudy starts the car and Jennifer opens the door. I gently place Samantha inside the car, resting her head on Jennifer's lap and giving her a quick peck on the forehead.

  As soon as the car drove off, we saw Ryan and Luke approaching us, panting.

  “Let's get the fuck out of here, before we have to give explanations as to why there is a carnage on the field behind us.” Alpha Luke tells us and we agree, throwing each of them a pair of spare shorts, and then piling up into the other car we had here. Technically speaking, neither of our packs knew that we are here, this is considered an act of war despite the fact that it was a hostage rescue operation. Better to avoid someone knowing about our involvement and giving any explanations.

  “I think we should inform my father.” I tell them and watch closely for their reaction. “Neither Marie of Samantha's adoptive parents were here, so they might as well go back to the pack house and do something to my parents.” I explain, knowing that my parents are due back home any minute now. The bitch is crazy, she might go and murder them, but I don't express that thought out loud. I'm sure everyone in the car thought the same thing, though.

  “Agreed. Set up a meeting with your father. Get us permission to enter your pack's territory. We will tell him everything.” Alpha Bolder is the first one to speak, but I'm not keen on having him and my father in the same room after all that my parents did to his family. Hell, even I am not a fan of my father at this moment, but I would not want him dead.

  As if reading my thoughts, Bolder tries to reassure me. “I'm not as stupid as those rogue we just killed. I know and understand the full story now, and I know that your parents reacted according to what they knew. The heavy guilt on them after they learn all that you have learned will be punishment enough, I assure you.” I just nod, his words being oddly reassuring on my ears. Luke and Ryan frown a bit, obviously confused because they did not have all the finer details of this tangled story as we had.

  “We'll resume this later, we're here now.” Luke tells us and I just jump out of the car running towards the pub. Once I'm inside, I quickly realised I had no idea where they took my mate, and men tally slap my stupid face. Looking around and scanning the now empty pub, I settle on trying my luck with the door I remembered Sam going through the night I heard her sing. I was right, because as soon as I approached the door I could hear Jen and Carla inside. I knock softly, feeling awkward and not knowing what to do, but still wanting to be close to my mate, to know what happened and if she's alright. If she's going to be alright.

  Carla comes to open the door, offering me a small smile before she leads me inside. The room appears to have been an office, now converted into a fully functional hospital room. A desk is pushed to the side, against the wall, the desk chair resting on it next to a computer and a bunch of files. A coffee table is placed on the sofa, leaving the room clear so the hospital bed and various machines could fit inside, still allowing us to move around them.

  Samantha is resting on the bed, her face now cleaned and the dirty clothes nowhere in sight. She's dressed in a hospital gown, a soft blanket covering her up to her chest. Her eyes are closed and I can see how her chest rises slowly with every breath she takes. She finally looks peaceful. I noticed a trail of bruises on her partly exposed arms, and my eyes linger for a moment on the various tubes coming out of her right hand.

  I turn to Jennifer and she too offers me a small smile.

  I don't even know how to start asking questions. I'm afraid of the answers I might get. Opening my mouth a couple of times, I give up before the words leave my lips. I'm looking at Jennifer, then at Samantha, then back at Jennifer, gaping like a fucking fish. I sigh and look down at the floor once Jennifer puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder and leads me to sit on a chair I didn't even notice next to the bed. I've never felt so powerless in my life. I have failed my mate in the worst ways possible.

  I explain the state I found Samantha in, although she already knew. I guess it was more for me than for Jennifer. She listened without interrupting me, Carla as well. I really appreciate them not letting the others inside, although Carla started to look restless. I knew just how much Bolder wanted to see Sam, but I couldn't share my time with her, not now. I look at Carla again, thanking her with my eyes. She looks very agitated indeed. Maybe she was like that when she opened the door for me, I just didn't notice it. We are all agitated with Sam in this condition.

  Jennifer takes another look at the machine Samantha is connected to and starts talking, explaining about every reading the machines were giving, before explaining to me about her behaviour.

  “It's the human equivalent of a wolf gone feral.” My eyes go wide and head snaps to see Jennifer and confirm she is serious. And she was.

  “She's had a psychotic breakdown due to the intense psychological torture. It's her subconscious way of dealing with the trauma, with all the trauma, not just this. What happened during the last couple of days might just have been the straw that finally broke the camel's back. The best we can do for her is to keep her sedated so she can properly rest. Once she will be awake we can assess her mental state and go from there. But the extent of her PTSD will be serious. Physically, though, she's absolutely fine. Her healing rate is astonishing.”

  I was right, I didn't really want to know. Not knowing means you can still hold one to the hope that this all a bad dream, a temporary state. Luder whimpers and I feel the tears stinging in my eyes, begging me to let them roll out on my cheeks. But I don't, I won't. I get up from the chair, startling Jennifer. With the corner of my eyes I see Carla taking a subtle fighting stance.

  “Sorry guys, I didn't mean to scare you. “I quickly tell them, realising my scary behaviour and trying to avoid Jennifer sedating me as well. I'm sure she was mentally locating the syringe and sedative. I have some weasels to hunt, and I hope to do it before Samantha wakes up, otherwise I will still be the same failure of a mate with nothing to show for myself, nothing to make it worth it for her when I come begging for forgiveness. And I plan on begging Samantha for a second chance, even if I have to spend the rest of my life doing that. No way I'm planning to give Luke the chance to sweep in and take Samantha for himself, or any other guy for that matter.

  31 - Fate

  Carla

  For some reason my wolf perked up upon hearing that new guy's name. Shit, focus woman. Know your priorities!

  “Sorry, baby bro, I didn't catch that last part. So I'll be waiting here for Rudy and Jennifer, right?” I ask embarrassed by my obvious lack of focus.

  I am stressed out, really stressed. We wasted 2 whole days thinking poor Samantha is off with her mate. I was so happy for her that I didn't even question it. It's really unlike her to bail on everything and just off with some boy, mate or not. I should have known better, and the guilt is eating away at me. On the plus side, I was right and that boy, Jason is indeed her mate. They look cute together and I'm definitely rooting for them even if my brother would disagree. Poor Sam deserves some peace and happiness.

  I hear my brother sighing annoyed on the other end of the call.

  “First of all, NEVER call me that ever again. Need I remind you that I am your Alpha?” I scoff and roll my eyes at that statement. Alpha or not, I changed his diapers and burped him when he was a baby, so I get to call him whatever I want. “Second, this is serious Carla. This is as bad as it gets. I'm not even sure she's..”

  “Don't! Don't you even dare say that. She is alive, and soon we'll get her out and keep her safe. But Luke.. she's not your mate, you have to remember that, alright? Just don't go there, it's not fair for anyone, especially for you.”

  He sighs again, not getti
ng into this argument. I get it, it's neither the time nor the place to have this heart to heart conversation.

  “Yes, stay alert and wait for Rudy and Jen to come with Samantha. We'll handle it here. There's a lot of them, mostly rogues, but lack serious organization so we'll be just fine. Alpha Bolder is skilled and experienced enough to take them all by himself.”

  “Fine. Let me know if you need me to do anything else. Meanwhile all is ready at the Hound.” I hung up the call and walked towards the bathroom. I splash some cold water on my face and when it doesn't do anything to calm me down, I slap myself. Yup, I'm going insane, what the hell is wrong with me? That name, the mention of that man, does weird things to my mind. It reminds me of my mate. A cold chill runs down my spine at the memory of him, a memory that I buried deep inside and not even my wolf speaks about it. Well, you can't really call that heartless bastard my mate, but still.

  I was Luke's age when I accompanied my father to some random treaty meeting at some pack in the Middle East. I mostly went because I was excited to get out of England and see the sun for once. The weather here did nothing for my fair complexion, so I was more than happy to tag along.

  My dad had been busy with his meeting so I was just hanging out in the fancy room the Luna of that pack arranged for me. It was relaxing, but I needed more than just to sit around and look out the window or read. Needless to say, I got extremely bored and on my second day there I decided to go and explore.

  The setup of that pack was like an Oasis in the desert, so I stuck to the borders not venturing into the deadly sands that stretched for miles. I stopped under a big palm tree and sat down to enjoy the calmness and the sun finally kissing my skin. It only took two whiffs for my wolf to start stirring like crazy and yell 'mate' over and over again.