TALA

by Laura Ryles

“Huh, I wonder what Cindy was doing in town,” Tala pondered. “Did they send her for supplies too?” she questioned Ander.

  “I doubt it, maybe she just wanted to get out for a bit.”

  “Yeah,” Tala conceded. “Probably so. I imagine she probably does miss her mom and her pack. She’s not a very social person really. I wonder if she’s even made any friends since we’ve been here. I should probably go try to talk to her when we get back. I don’t want her to feel like she’s all alone.” Ander kissed Tala on the top of her head.

  “I think she would probably really like that,” he said as he pushed the door to the ice cream shoppe open and held it for Tala to enter.

  After eating their ice creams, they headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the pack kitchen. When they were standing in line to check out, Tala got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. It churned so hard that she had to grab hold of Ander to keep her balance.

  “Tala, what’s wrong?” Ander asked as he grabbed her by the arm to help her steady herself.

  “I don’t know. I mean, I’m not sure what it is, but something is definitely wrong. The Tundras that are still here are scared. I can feel them.” Ander paid for the groceries and they loaded them in the car as quickly as possible. All the way back, Ander kept looking over at her to make sure she was alright. He held her hand and Tala held her spinning head.

  When they arrived back home, Tala jumped out of the vehicle and immediately shifted into her wolf form, Ander did the same. They ran up and down the rows of cabins looking for someone, anyone who could tell them what was happening, but there was no one. It was like a ghost town. Then, Tala heard a whimper from underneath a boat near one of the cabins. Tala pawed over to it slowly and tipped it over. It was Kelly, the girl she had met under the tree. Tala looked around for the girl's mother, or her brother, or anyone else, but there was no one. Tala leaned her head down and nuzzled the girl with her snout. Kelly reached up and wrapped her arms around Tala’s great lupine neck. Ander came back around from searching the rest of the nearby cabins.

  “Ander, what happened?”

  “Raiders,” Ander replied to Tala’s inquisition. “But they’ve never gone this far before. I can’t find anyone.” Ander let out a loud howl. The door on the side of the mountain swung open and the rest of their community members poured out. Tala and Ander breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Kelly!” A woman's voice shouted as she ran out of the side of the mountain towards the little girl.

  “Momma,” Kelly yelled. The little girl let go of the large wolf standing beside her and ran into her mother's arms.

  “I thought they had taken her. Thank you, Alpha.” The young woman kissed her daughter’s head and moved out of the Alpha’s way. Ander and Tala made their way back to Ander’s car to grab the change of clothes they had stashed in there this morning. They got dressed and came back around the mountain. Everyone was standing around talking about the events from the last hour. Tala found Liam and went to hear what he had to say.

  “There were at least fifteen of them. Rogue wolves. They made their way through every cabin, tearing down anything in their way. At first the Tundras were going to fight them, until we realized how many there were. We decided the safest thing to do would be to sound the alarm and barricade ourselves in the great hall. There are too many women and children, and not enough men left here for us to take on a pack of that size.”

  “I thought you said they were rogues?” Tala questioned. “Do rogues usually move in packs like that?”

  Ander, who was standing beside her, answered for Liam. “Not usually. As I told you before, we might have a problem with four or five, but numbers like Liam is talking about, that’s a pack of them, not just a few individuals out for a hunt together.”

  “So, they’ve organized?” Tala asked, looking from Ander to Liam in terror.

  “It certainly seems that way,” Liam commented.

  “What do they want? Why did they attack us?” Tala asked.

  “Usually food, some supplies. Things like that. They didn’t take any of that today though. Things are all turned upside down, like they ran through the place, but they didn’t take any of it. I don’t understand.” Ander looked around and ran his fingers through his blonde hair.

  “Do you think they meant it to scare us?” Tala asked.

  “It looks that way. Why else risk the attack at all?”

  “Umm, excuse me, Alpha, I think you should hear this.” Kelly's mom was back with Kelly in tow. “Kelly, can you tell Alpha what you told me?”

  “Yes, Momma.” Kelly looked up at Tala. “The mean wolfs was looking for you. I heard them say ‘the Alpha’s not here.’ and then they left.” After Kelly finished, she hid behind her mother’s leg. Tala looked from Kelly’s innocent little eyes to the fiery ice blue eyes of her mate. She could feel the rage building in him. She walked to his side and put her hand on his arm, calming him instantly.

  “Ander, it’s okay, they didn’t find me.”

  “Why are they looking for you in the first place? That’s the problem,” Ander said, his nostrils flaring up again.

  “So, these thugs were on the hunt for our beloved Alpha,” Liam said as he placed his hand on Tala’s shoulder.

  “Yes, we believe so,” Tala answered, a small sliver of fear showed in her eyes.

  “I will tear them limb from limb if they come near her,” Ander exclaimed. Tala drew closer to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, letting him pull her into him. Ander leaned his head down and breathed her in.

  “They won’t get to her,” Liam answered. “We may be down in numbers since most of us have gone to help the Timbers, but every member of this pack would protect our Alpha.” Ander nodded toward Liam. Tala finally let go of Ander, now that he seemed to have calmed down.

  “Let’s help get this mess picked up,” Tala said, as she walked over to the nearest scrap of wood and started picking up the debris that was left in the wake of the attack. They spent the afternoon and most of the evening picking up the mess the raiders had left.

  Chapter 8

  Dinner that night was a solemn affair. There wasn’t much jovial conversation and many of the women and children of the pack were still scared. Everyone ate and then retired to their homes to lock their doors and close their windows. They left guards on watch outside the mountain door, and had several others spread throughout the surrounding forest.

  Tala was lying next to Ander in their bed, her head resting on his shoulder, with her leg draped over his.

  “You still seem really nervous,” Tala said, as she looked up into Ander’s eyes.

  “No, I’m not nervous. What makes you say that?” Ander scoffed at her accusation.

  “Ander, I can feel what you’re feeling,” Tala rolled her eyes at him.

  “Oh,” Ander smiled down at her. “Right. I guess I am nervous. Or uncertain. Uncertain is probably a better word for what I’m feeling. The rogue wolves have never done this before. They’ve never just attacked us for nothing. They’ve stolen food before, but usually they come in smaller numbers and most of the time, they wait till we’re asleep or they sneak in. They’ve never made a scene or tried to draw attention to themselves like this. I don’t like it. They’re getting too brave. And right now, with the men gone, we don’t have the numbers to defend ourselves if we need to.”

  “I understand. Do you think we should call and ask the Timbers to send back the men that they can for now? I’m sure they won’t mind,” Tala sat up on her elbow next to Ander and looked into his crystal blue eyes. He is so beautiful, Tala thought. Ander laughed.

  “You’re the one who’s beautiful,” he replied to her unspoken train of thought, as he touched her cheek. “Don’t call them. Let them come in a few days as planned. Hopefully the raiders won’t be back again for a while. They usually only come about every six months or so, when they’re in the area. Maybe they’ve already moved on.”

  “I hope so,” Tala said as she
leaned in and kissed Anders' lips gently.

  “Well, at any rate, I’m going to assign you a guard from now until the rest of our packs are back. And I don’t want you wandering around. Make sure to stay near the great hall. If they do attack again, I want you to be close enough to lock yourself in here.”

  “What?” Tala sat up and scooted away from Ander. “I don’t need a bodyguard. I don’t want to be a prisoner here again either.”

  “That’s not fair, Tala. You were only a prisoner here for one day, and that’s not what this is about, and you know it.” Ander reached out to stroke Tala’s arm, but she pulled away.

  “Ha. Says you. I will be continuing my training with Liam in the morning. I’d like to see you, or any guard try to stop me.” Tala turned away from him

  “Tala, be reasonable.”

  “I’m the Alpha, right?”

  “Yes, but…,” Ander began to protest.

  “But nothing, I am going to train with Liam in the morning. I won’t let a pack of wild dogs back me into a corner in my own home. It’s not going to happen, do you hear me, Ander?” A smile began to creep along Ander’s lips, until it grew into a wide grin.

  “I hear you, Alpha. Whatever you say.”

  ‘Thank you,” Tala said as she snuggled back into Ander’s embrace. He reached over and put his hand in her hair and kissed her.

  “I never thought I would like being told what to do so much.” Ander joked.

  “I never thought I’d have such a problem with it.” Tala laughed. He put his hand on her hip and slid her closer to him, then pushed her hair back and kissed her ear. Tala watched as Ander turned over and clicked the lamp off, then turned back to face her with a fire in his eyes. He pulled her to him and pressed his lips against hers.

  Tala woke up feeling incredibly energetic. Stretching her arms and legs, she climbed out of bed, trying not to wake Ander who was still snoring beside her. She got dressed and headed outside to meet Liam. Much to her surprise he wasn’t waiting in their usual spot, so she decided to stretch a little and then head up the trail a little to see if he had started without her. She had just started jogging when she felt something sting her leg. Looking down Tala saw a small, feathery, dartlike object protruding from her thigh. She pulled it out just in time to see another dart take its place. Then, everything went black.

  When Tala opened her eyes, everything was blurry. Looking around, she couldn’t tell where she was. Trying to stand up, she found that her legs were so wobbly she fell right back down. Crawling across the floor, she kept going until she ran into something. When she reached out her hand, she felt the coolness of metal. It was slender and round, whatever it was. She reached out to the side and felt another piece of metal just like it, and another, and another. Finally her eyesight came into focus and she realized that she was sitting inside of what looked like a cage. Grabbing hold of the bars, she shook them, but they didn’t budge. Fear started to grip her. Ander, she thought to herself. Call Ander.

  “Ander, are you there? Ander, can you hear me?” Tala called out with her mind.

  “Tala, thank God. When I couldn’t hear your thoughts, I feared the worst. I’m coming. I can feel you. You’re still a long way off but I’m coming.” Ander’s voice helped ease her fear.

  “I think they shot me with a tranquilizer. I’m in a cage inside of a building.” Then she looked around the rest of the room to see if she could figure out where she was. She was inside an old factory, but she wasn’t sure what kind.

  “I’m coming Tala. Just hold on,” Ander's voice came through again. Tala could tell that he was running towards her, but she wasn't sure how long it would take for him to get there. What if the people who did this get here before Ander does, she thought? Growing desperate, her eyes darted around the room, looking for something, anything, that might help her escape.

  “Tala, don’t do anything risky.” Ander’s voice was stern in her mind. Tala stripped down to nothing and transformed into a wolf. She ran at the bars but all that did was cause her to hurt her paw.

  “Tala, I said wait for me, I’m coming.” Ander scolded her for causing herself harm. She ran at the bars again, just to be sure. Nothing happened. Shifting back into her human self, she put her clothes back on. Walking to the front of the cell, she decided to check out the lock, thinking maybe she could pick it. As she jiggled the lock, an evil but all too familiar laugh rang out into the empty room. She looked up. Dag. The ex-Alpha of the Tundras. The wolf she had defeated for the title because he was about to kill his own son.

  “Is that my Dad?” Ander’s question echoed, unanswered in her mind. Tala could hear the fear in Ander’s voice; she felt him pick up his stride to make it to her more quickly.

  “Ah, hello again, pup. So, I hear you’ve become quite the little Alpha. Two packs to your name now. Not only that but I hear congratulations are in order. You married my son instead of me. How charming.” Dag dragged a rickety metal chair across the floor until it was right in front of her. “Did you miss me?” He smiled a twisted smile.

  “What do you want, Dag? Why have you brought me here? You don’t want to pick a fight with me. I already beat you once.”

  “Hence the cage, your highness. I’m here to tear your packs apart. You’ve made it all too easy by sending half of them away. I’m going to make sure there’s nothing left for you to rule when I let you out of here. I would have had you yesterday if some idiot hadn’t given me bad intel.”

  “Shut-up, Dag.” A new, but also familiar voice spoke from the shadows. “That’s my old lady you’re talking about. How was she supposed to know that your son would slip the Alpha out to go on a supply run at the time we planned to attack?” Orin walked into the room. Tala felt her mouth drop open. Dag laughed again at her.

  “What’s the matter sweetheart? You look like you’ve seen a couple of ghosts. I’m sure you remember my pal, Orin. I think you took over his pack too, right?”

  “I didn’t take over anything. The pack chose me because your ‘pal’ is a scumbag, just like you.”

  “Oh, she’s gotten a lot feistier since the first time I saw her.” Dag commented towards Orin. Orin and Dag both chuckled.

  “Orin?” A woman’s voice called from the hallway. “Where you at, Baby?”

  “In here,” Orin called.

  “Oh, there you are,” Cindy said as she entered the room. She walked over to Orin and wrapped one of her legs around him and kissed him in a very unladylike manner, then she stood back up and looked over at Tala in the cage. “Oh, look who’s awake.”

  “Cindy? What are you doing here?” Tala questioned.

  “I know you’re young, honey, but, don’t be a dummy. Orin is my man; I’m not just going to let you run him out of his own pack. Not without payback.” Cindy smiled and turned back to Orin to continue their make-out session.

  “That’s right, Baby,” Orin said as he grabbed her and headed back towards the door.

  “Where are you two idiots going?” Dag barked.

  “Me and my woman need to do some catching up,” Orin yelled back as Cindy giggled. Then he practically dragged her out of the room. Tala looked over at Dag.

  “So, Cindy has been with him all along.” Though she said it out loud, Tala was mostly talking to herself and wasn’t expecting an answer.

  “You mean she’s been with us,” Dag replied. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself or your new little pack friends into. How do you think I found you when I sent Ander to kidnap you? Orin went to find your dad and when he did, he found you too. He knew that you had the birth right of an Alpha, so what do you think he did? He called me. You would have ruined all of his plans.”

  “You’ve been working together since before I was kidnapped?” Tala asked.

  “Since before he murdered your dad, sweet cheeks.” Tala couldn’t believe it.

  “So, he called you and told you where I was so that you could stake your claim on me, since my dad had promised me to you.”

&nb
sp; “Exactly.”

  “I guess he hadn’t planned on you getting your butt kicked by a girl,” Tala said with a stern jaw and a touch of satisfaction glinting in her eyes.

  “Don’t antagonize him, Tala.” Ander issued a warning in her mind.

  “No, I didn’t plan on that either. I guess we both underestimated you then. But we won’t be making that mistake again. That’s why you’re going to stay right here while we let our pack of rogues destroy what’s left of your pack up here. Then we’re going to wait for the rest to show up and when they do, we’re going to crush them too.”

  “So, the raiders, that was you and Orin?” Tala asked.

  “That’s right. Not feeling so tough now, huh? We’ve had your every move tracked since you came up here. Cindy was reporting everything you did to Orin, and he was reporting it to me. How do you think we knew when to come for you? How do you think the rogue pack knew when all the men were gone? She told us when they left. She told us about your morning runs with that old fool.” A shot of fear ran down Tala’s spine.

  “What’d you do to Liam? You better not have hurt him or I’ll…”

  “You’ll what? There’s nothing you can do to stop what’s coming next. Our pack is on its way to destroy what’s left of the Tundras. You are never going to see my sorry excuse for a son again. I hope you gave him a kiss goodbye this morning, ‘cause it will be the last one for both of you.”

  “Tala, I’m here.” Ander’s voice was loud and clear inside of her own mind again. A noise somewhere around the back of the building drew Dag’s attention.

  “What was that?” Dag grumbled. “Orin, is that you?” He stood up and waited for an answer from Orin. When he didn’t get one, he went to investigate the noise on his own. As soon as Dag walked out of the door to go and see what the sound was, Ander entered the room through a door that Tala hadn’t even noticed. He was majestic in his wolf form. He walked over to where Tala was locked in her cage.

  “Stand back.” Ander said as he put his jaws around one of the bars.