The Alpha's Promise

by Raven Darkwing

  After a few more months, Ricky began to think about finishing his schooling. He had a dream of opening his own mechanic shop. But fate once again intervened. His friend Robert stopped by one day while he’d been gone and talked to the Alpha. His old boyfriend had been concerned about how Ricky was handling what happened. Once again, Ricky returned home, his head filled with dreams only to walk directly into a nightmare. The Alpha threatened to declare both he and Sandy rogue and kill them for the death of his true love.

  Ricky remembered begging while the Alpha beat him until he could barely breathe. He was thrown into a room and locked in for two days before the Alpha returned. It seemed he’d calmed down enough to realize that Sandy wasn’t responsible and that killing Ricky wouldn’t bring Maria back. So the Alpha informed Ricky of his new station in life and warned him that as long as he obeyed, he could live in the pack and Sandy would be cared for. He also made it clear that Sandy would not be allowed to leave with Ricky should he decide to go. Even among shifters it seemed being gay was seen as unnatural. A point that was further pressed home when the Alpha killed his ex-boyfriend to show what happened to any who went against the natural order. Even now, he could still see the dead eyes of his lover begging him to save him.

  At that point, Ricky would have agreed to anything just to keep Sandy safe. But as the abuse continued year after year, he began to wonder what his treatment was doing to his little brother. When he witnessed his brother’s tears after one of the more serious public beatings he’d endured, he decided that at some point he would escape and take Sandy with him. The final straw was the conversation he overheard between the Alpha and his Beta. They had plans for his brother and were going to use him to ensure that Sandy did what they wanted. It was clear this was not the best place for his brother.

  As Ricky continued to wade through his past, time lost all meaning. One scene after another continued to play in his mind until he felt himself beginning to finally release his hold on life. His body hurt, his soul cried out in pain and all he felt was a coldness that seemed to seep into his very bones. He didn’t even feel the frantic shaking of his body by the one person he had promised to protect.

  CHAPTER THREE

  AWEEK HAD PASSED AND STILL THERE WAS NO WORD ON what happened to Charlie. David and Jason had searched but there was no sign of the missing shifter. Grant worried even more about their pack mate. The Sentries hadn’t found any sign of him and the Alpha of the shifter’s former pack still insisted he had no idea who Charlie was. He hated to admit it, but they may have to just wait to see if the missing shifter would contact them again. Grant just hoped the wolf shifter would be able to.

  He glanced down at the folder on his desk and continued to frown. His brothers had been able to find more information on Richard Landon than they had on Charlie. The biggest surprise had been that Richard was not a shifter but a human. When Grant called Alpha Clifton to demand an explanation, he couldn’t believe what he was told. The human had agreed to become a member of the Willow Creek Pack and had even accepted the mark of the Alpha. So technically according to the old traditions, Richard was now considered the property of a wolf shifter and a member of the pack.

  When he explained to Alpha Clifton that killing the human could cause problems with the peace treaty, the Alpha of Willow Creek had laughed. It was clear he was of the mind that humans should be either used as slave labor or eliminated. It wasn’t an unheard of position in the shifter community, but it wasn’t as predominant as it had been in the past. Grant huffed as he slammed the folder shut, and his brother thought he was stuck in the past?

  Still if Richard did show up, he would present a problem for Grant and his brothers. If he provided sanctuary then he risked war with the Willow Creek Pack. If he turned Richard over to be killed, he risked war with the humans. Then there was the matter of Sandy. By pack law, once Richard was accepted into the pack, the Alpha had the right to adopt Sandy as his own. Unfortunately, human law would not see it that way as Maria had granted full custody of Sandy to Richard well before her death. Which left another mystery, why would a wolf shifter leave custody of her pup to a human instead of a member of her pack? In a way, he hoped that Richard had kept running and wouldn’t show up anytime soon.

  The sound of a loud howl pulled Grant from his musings. He quickly ran from his office and headed for the front porch. One of the Sentries had sounded the alarm, which could mean anything from an unidentified shifter to a war party. As he quickly walked down the porch steps he was stunned to see a pure white wolf run directly towards him.

  A large mahogany brown wolf and a slightly smaller black wolf jumped in front of Grant and growled at the young pup. Grant watched as the wolf stopped and stared at the two larger wolves for a moment before he dropped on his haunches and looked up at the Alpha. Grant could smell the fear and despair coming from the young pup.

  “Shift, no one will hurt you,” Grant ordered, while he placed his hands on his brothers’ shoulders. “Why don’t you two run inside and get dressed. Bring back something that our friend can use to cover himself with, too.”

  David huffed before he left with Jason to follow his Alpha’s orders. It was clear the young pup was no threat. Grant glanced over at the now naked young boy for a moment, noticing his dirty and gaunt appearance. It was obvious the pup was not eating as much as he should. Grant sat on the porch step so that he would be less intimidating to the obviously distressed child.

  “What is your name, son?”

  The boy shifted from foot to foot for a moment while chewing on his bottom lip. He wrapped his arms around his body and spoke softly. “Ricky told me not to go to strangers but I didn’t know what to do. He won’t wake up, Alpha.”

  The boy jumped as the door opened to reveal David and Jason. Jason walked down and quietly knelt by the boy. “Here, why don’t we get you into these and then we can go inside and talk, okay?”

  Grant nodded to the child as he stood and moved to the side. He watched as Jason helped the boy get dressed before taking his hand and leading him into the house. Luckily his mother had insisted they keep their old clothes as they grew. He always thought it was her subtle way of reminding them she wanted grandchildren some day. But he had to admit, having smaller sized clothing had come in handy more than once when a young pup showed up on their doorstep.

  He watched as the pup placed his hand in Jason’s before following him into the house. His youngest brother had a way with people, especially kids. There had always been a quiet strength to Jason that Grant appreciated, especially at times like this. He couldn’t help but notice the birthmark on the young man’s wrist when he took his brother’s hand. If he wasn’t mistaken, the problem he had hoped would stay away had just landed on his doorstep and was even bigger than he had first thought. David stepped beside him and nodded towards the kid.

  “You do know who that is, don’t you?”

  The Alpha nodded. “Yes, that would be a whole lot of trouble heading our way. I need you to gather up Dakota and Sparky. Also, make sure you double up the Sentries, but no one knows about Sandy or his brother until I say so. At least now we know part of the reason the Alpha at Willow Creek is so keen to keep Sandy as his own. We don’t need Alpha Clifton on our doorstep before we figure out how we are going to handle this.”

  “Do you think the young whelp knows anything?” Daniel asked, as he glanced towards the kitchen doorway. “I mean, I’ve never seen one before, have you?” Obviously his brother had also notice the identifying mark of an Omega wolf.

  “No, but Father told me he met one once. I honestly thought they were all extinct since the few who had survived being killed by our own, had been killed during the Great War.” Grant shook his head. The problems just kept piling up with the Landon brothers.

  Sandy’s white fur was one of the traits of an Omega wolf but it was the mark of Gaia on his wrist that confirmed his status. He knew the Omega wouldn’t come into his full powers until he turned twenty-one but there was n
o way to know for sure how much power he currently controlled. Again, his knowledge was more from what he’d heard and he wasn’t sure how much was fact and how much was part of a myth told to young wolves to scare them.

  However, just the fact that he might be an Omega was enough for Alpha Clifton to want to keep the pup as part of his pack. Omega’s were direct decedents of Gaia and were keepers of the old magic. They had been greatly feared by humans and shifters alike due to their unique powers.

  Grant sighed. “If he requests sanctuary, we will grant it and he will need to be protected.”

  A war with the Willow Creek Pack now seemed more likely than not.

  His brother nodded and headed towards his office. Meanwhile, Grant could hear Jason talking quietly to the young pup. “You were pretty brave coming here all alone, Sandy.”

  There was a soft sniffle before the boy’s voice answered. “I thought I was helping but he only got worse. My mom and dad both died. All I have left is Ricky. Please, will you help him?”

  Grant cleared his throat before he entered the room. He noticed the boy cringed and the smell of fear had returned. He had no idea what the boy had endured, but surely he must know that an Alpha would not harm him. “Can you lead us to your brother, Sandy?” He watched the battle going on with the young boy. It was clear he was torn over what to do. “We can’t help him unless you tell us where he is.”

  “You won’t call Alpha Clifton?” Sandy asked, as he glanced fearfully around the room. “Cause if you do, then I may as well leave my brother where he is. At least he won’t be hurt no more.” Tears began to drip down dirty cheeks as the pup began to cry. “I don’t want my brother to be hurt because of me.”

  Jason’s concerned eyes met Grant’s as they both wondered what had really happened. The more the Alpha heard, the less he believed that everything was as it seemed when it came to Richard and Sandy. He knelt beside the small boy and placed a hand on his thigh. He could feel the trembling but ignored it as he tried to soothe the youngster’s fears. “I promise that I will do what I can for your brother, Sandy. I won’t call Alpha Clifton and I promise that I will listen to what you and Richard have to say. This pack is a place for those who need a home and need to feel safe. Can you trust me enough to help you save your brother, Sandy?”

  Sandy looked at Jason who smiled and nodded in encouragement. “My brother is right. We don’t turn away anyone who needs a safe place to stay. That includes you and your brother. Now, can you lead us to him?” The young wolf pup chewed his lip for another moment before he nodded.

  “Good. My two brothers and two of my friends will go with us to get your brother. Can you tell me if there is a road near where he is or will we need to carry him back?” Grant watched, as the pup seemed to think about his question before he answered.

  “I didn’t see a road. I smelled a shifter come close to where we are staying and just followed his scent back here. I ran straight back to my brother to tell him I found help, but he wouldn’t wake up. He keeps crying and there is blood on the blanket but I don’t know how to fix it. So, after telling him I was going for help I ran back here and then the two big wolves tried to eat me.” Grant smiled. The boy had talked without taking a breath. He had a feeling that once the pup became comfortable he was a real chatterbox.

  A soft chuckle came from behind him. “I wasn’t going to eat you, pup, and neither was Jason. We prefer our prey to have a little more meat on its bones.” David knelt down and tickled the pup as he continued. “Of course, once you plump up a bit, you might make a nice midnight snack.” Grant watched as Jason slapped David on the back of the head. “Hey! What did you do that for?”

  Jason smiled. “What? I figured something jiggled loose in there and I was just trying to move it back in place.”

  Sandy giggled and grinned at the two siblings as they continued to banter for a few more minutes. Meanwhile, Grant motioned the other two shifters who were standing quietly outside the door to enter. The small pup tensed up as the two men entered. David turned and smiled. “Sandy, I want you to meet two of our friends. The short one with the spiky, purple?” David paused and turned his head sideways for a moment before he shook it and continued, “The one with no fashion sense is Sparky and the other guy is Dakota.”

  Sparky put his hand on his hip and hissed. “No fashion sense? I hate to break it to you but that cut you got going on is so 80’s. Now this, my friend, is what you call stylin’ in the new millennium.” The wolf struck a pose to rival any model on a fashion runway.

  “Well, at least we won’t lose you in the forest. We can just follow the glow!” David yelped as Sparky punched him in the shoulder. Grant stood and moved between the pair before it could get any further out of control.

  “Gentlemen, we have more important matters to take care of.” He nodded at the now quiet wolf pup sitting at the table.

  Sparky smiled and knelt down beside Sandy. “Don’t mind us. We actually do like each other.” Sparky glanced up and glared at David. “Just some days we like each other a little more than others. Don’t worry, though, because once we find your brother and get him fixed up, I’ll make sure you are just as stylin’ as me in no time.”

  Grant smiled at the unsure look that crossed Sandy’s face before the pup spoke. “Okay, I guess.” He turned to look at the Alpha. “Can we go now?”

  The Alpha held out his hand to the young boy. “Come on, we have a brother to find and fix before it gets dark.”

  Before long the rescue party had started following the white wolf pup through the forest. Dakota carried a pack with medical supplies including a collapsible rescue sled. As the Sherriff of Sugar Creek, he also had received basic medical training. He would be able to stabilize the injured man until the pack doctor could get to work. From what Sandy had revealed, it was doubtful that Ricky would be walking out of the wilderness and needed some kind of medical care. The Alpha just hoped the young man didn’t require hospitalization, as that would draw unwanted attention and would place him outside the protection of the Windy River Pack’s territory.

  David carried another pack with spare clothes for them all and other things they might need on their trek. Jason and Sparky had taken up positions of defense to ensure they weren’t surprised by uninvited guests. They all knew that a hunt had been called on the injured human and that meant Sentries from Willow Creek Pack would most likely arrive soon.

  Grant glanced at the young pup that currently ran slightly ahead of him. It was obvious there was more going on than what the Alpha of Willow Creek had told him. If the Sentries of Willow Creek showed up, he’d deal with them because sending Sandy back wasn’t an option. Especially if what the young wolf had hinted at had happened to the brothers. Abuse of any pack member was still considered an offense and could result in the Alpha of Willow Creek losing his position.

  The wolves all looked up as Sandy yipped excitedly before disappearing over the ridge. They all hurried their pace until the old cabin came into view. As they approached, vague memories of this place surfaced in Grant’s mind. He’d forgotten this structure was here. One of his father’s old friends had lived here for years before he eventually died six years ago in the wilderness he loved. While shifters lived much longer than humans, they were not immortal. At his death, Hugh had been close to nine hundred years old. The Alpha was surprised that the dwelling still appeared to be in fairly good shape.

  Of course, others had probably used it from time to time and he was glad it was sturdy enough to provide the human and his brother respite from the unpredictable weather. This time of year they could get heavy snowstorms that closed many of the mountain passes. Luckily, the snow that currently covered the ground wasn’t very deep and actually would make getting Ricky out of here a bit easier with the sled. As they grew closer, Grant scented the air. Along with the smell of the surrounding woods and of burning wood he could detect another scent. He stopped and tilted his head, drawing in a deeper breath.

  A surge of excitement
had his cock swelling. For a moment he couldn’t believe what he smelled on the wind. But the closer they got to the structure, the more sure he was of what it contained. His father had explained it to him of course, but experiencing the scent of his Semme’ for the first time had him shaking his head. The fact that his Semme’ was human and male didn’t bother him, but to find out his mate was the rogue being hunted by another pack had him wondering what the fates were thinking. The situation had just become more complicated than before because there was no way he was going to let anything happen to his Semme’ or his little brother.

  They all shifted and dressed before entering the cabin. Jason and Sparky remained outside to guard the dwelling while the rest hurried inside. The smell of sickness and death filled the cabin. For a moment Grant held his breath as he got his first glance at his future. Was he too late? But a soft groan assured him the man on the cot was still alive if only barely.

  “What have we got, Dakota?” The Alpha barked as he tried to keep his wolf under control. His first inclination was to grab the human and claim him; but luckily his human half was able to reason with his wolf. He realized David was looking at him funny as he paced close to the fireplace but he didn’t care. Right now he had to make sure his Semme’ was safe.

  “He’s in pretty bad shape, Alpha,” Dakota responded softly. “You know, we probably should call in a rescue chopper and send him to the hospital. I’m not sure even Doc Houston will be able to help him.” The Sheriff gently turned the young human and sucked in a breath before he gently began to cut away the tattered shirt. Even from across the room Grant could see the extensive damage to the man’s back. How was this human even alive?

  “What the hell!” David cried out as he also looked at the man.

  Dakota sighed as he continued to work. “Not all of these are new injuries. This man has been abused for years. I can’t believe that an Alpha would allow this kind of mistreatment to happen to one of his pack members!” the wolf shifter growled as he continued to gently clean the man’s back.