“So, where’s your alpha, honey?” the darker one chides. “Surely he won’t mind if you come back with us and join our pack? Obviously if he did you would be mated already. You are just too delicious to resist,” he says, licking his lips as he continues circling menacingly.
Before the wolves can come any closer to me, Rafe bursts through the underbrush in an explosion of leaves and rage.
“Get the fuck away from her!” he shouts, putting himself between me and the two wolves, who have both jumped back a few feet and stand side by side. I’ve never seen him so angry. Rafe may be serious but he’s always been gentle and measured.
“Whoa whoa whoa, is this your female? There’s certainly no proof that you have claim on her,” the larger one exclaims, trying to sound calm but obviously shaken by the appearance of the dark wolf. Though they’re not small, they’re nothing compared to Rafe’s sheer size.
“She’s mine,” Rafe growls. “My pack, my family,” he then adds.
“Well, who’s to say she wants to stay in your family?” the other says, turning on the charm and approaching me slowly with a smile.
With a loud snap Rafe lunges at the intruder, not necessarily to kill, but much more intimidating than I have ever seen before.
“One more step, one more word, and I’ll tear your fucking head off,” he snarls, glaring at the now cowering outsider.
With that the picture has been made clear enough, and the two wolves retreat into the underbrush.
“Did you mean what you said a second ago. That I’m yours?” I ask as Rafe turns to me, his demeanor calming.
“Of course.”
“What did you mean by it?” I ask further, hoping for some much needed clarification.
He pauses for second, seeming to choose his words carefully for some reason. “You are my family, Aspen. Under my care. I would do anything to protect you,” he says sincerely, still sounding like he’s holding something back.
“Oh, so you would do the same for the others?”
“Well, yes. If it was necessary,” he answers. “My duty is to the pack.”
As we begin our way back home, I’m still lost and confused by his words.
“So, am I special to you at all?”
“Of course you’re special to me, Aspen,” Rafe says. For a moment we look into each others eyes, connecting somehow in a deep way that sends shivers down my spine. The care and affection I see in his eyes. And, something else… But the moment is gone, and Rafe turns his gaze towards the ground and torpedoes the moment with his next words. “You’re the alpha female. Of course you’re special.”
Rats.
I sigh as I finish remembering. I turn my gaze on Rafe. He’s running beside me, the sight of his perfect fur filling my eyes and his scent filling my nose. Even back then, Rafe was just as frustrating as ever. But as I look back on that moment, and dozens of others like it that we had, a glance we shared, a lingering touch, his smile seeming just a bit wider whenever he saw me, it’s clear that his actions speak louder than his words.
If only I had realized that sooner. At least I think I understand him better now. I think there are feelings beneath the ones he exclaims to be all about the pack and duty and me being an alpha female. But unless he tells me, I don’t know if I’ll ever know for sure. I’ll just have to be okay with that.
“We’re almost there,” Rafe exclaims, interrupting my thoughts. The scent we’re following is getting stronger, and I’m picking up the smell of other wolves.
I brace myself for whatever is coming.
Chapter 3
Just as the trees are almost becoming too dense to travel side by side through, we reach a huge clearing in the forest. The trees here look and smell the oldest, the ground covered in dead branches and leaves. In the clearing there are several large boulders, forming huge granite crests above the ground in a semi-circle. Loitering around the rocks are at least a dozen or so werewolves, of different colors and sizes, but all presumably from the same pack. On top of the largest rock in the center, stand three wolves side by side, conversing about something. They haven’t seen us yet, and I’m not sure how Rafe plans on handling the situation, but I imagine he has something in mind.
Disrupting me mid-thought, Rafe jumps 10 feet into the clearing, and gives a long, loud howl, stretching his neck to the sky and making his presence very clearly known to the wolves in front of him.
With a quick glance Rafe whispers over his shoulder, “Stay here.”
Unsure of how to respond to that, I crouch down, hiding between several large ferns. Rafe then begins walking into the clearing, which is now full of wolves very aware of the gigantic black werewolf in their midst. To my surprise, Rafe pays no attention to the other wolves as they begin to surround him, staying within close distance of him. Shoulders high, his ears pointed skyward, head lifted regally, Rafe is telling them all with his body language that they are below him. An interesting move considering he’s surrounded and outnumbered. He glances at his left and right momentarily, but continues forward towards the central edifice, carrying himself like a true alpha, beholden to nobody.
As I observe from the bushes, one thing is glaringly obvious. I can’t see any females here. Perhaps they’re hiding somewhere else, but whenever our pack was congregated like this, it included everyone, male and female alike. And the wolves here appear smaller, weaker, some of them almost mangy. Clearly something is off, but I can’t put my finger on it.
Rafe reaches the central boulder, which stands some 20 feet above the ground at its tallest point. So far the wolves surrounding him have done nothing more than snarl and growl menacingly, but none have dared touch him.
The three wolves atop the rock have turned their attention on Rafe, their gazes fixed on him, in bewilderment or amusement, I’m not really sure.
The oldest, standing in the middle, speaks. “Rafe, son of Rowan. What has brought you to our pack this day?”
“You know damn well why I’m here, old man,” Rafe replies, anger thinly veiled under respect. “You took one of our females.” He snarls up at them. “Our alpha female.”
“So it seems you’re aware of our plans. We apologize, we had no intention of bringing you here today.”
Rafe scoffs at this. “Plans? What kind of plan involves kidnapping a member of my pack and bringing her here against her will?”
“The female remains unmated. You have no claim on her,” the old one replies.
“The challenge was already set for days from now. You have violated it like cowards. And what of the tribunal? If they hear of this, there will be consequences. And I will personally see each and every one fulfilled.”
The old wolf chuckles, a coldness in his voice that chills me to the bone. “The old ways are dying, young Rafe. Surely you can sense it. The tribunal is nothing more than a figurehead now. The packs are fragmented, many of them near extinction. There is no power there. You father Rowan is the only one that still believes the packs can coexist. And when he is gone, all that will be left is those who are strong, and those who are not.”
“How dare you laugh in the face of our ideals! Without our honor, without the cooperation of packs, we are nothing,” Rafe counters. It’s a sentiment I’ve heard his father say multiple times before.
“Your naivety is preposterous.” The wolf to the elder’s left growls.
“I know that the strength of my pack lies in the strength of our connection to each other. Our love and our desire to protect those we care about.” Though I know he’s speaking about our family, there’s something else in his tone that makes me sure he’s speaking about one wolf in particular.
My heart warms at this, and I remember all of the times the others have stood by those values. Rafe, Hawthorne, Lindon. How they would do anything for me. But especially Rafe. Who even now, vastly outnumbered, is willing to put everything on the line for me.
My thoughts are interrupted as I hear rustling to my right. Something moving.
“Hey Asp
en, did you miss me?”
The voice is quiet and familiar. I turn to face it, but before I can react three wolves surround me from every side, Fang in the center of them.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. You should’ve run while you had the chance Aspen,” Fang says, unapologetically.
I’m stuck, nowhere to run from here. The only way out is into the clearing from here.
“Well, it was going to happen sooner or later, but for now I’ll need you to come with me,” Fang says, motioning towards the clearing.
I do as he says.
* * *
I’ve been caught. Now all of Rafe’s plans are for nothing. I shudder to think of what they will do with Rafe now that they have me to use against him, but I put my fear aside and hope against hope that Rafe still has something up his sleeve.
“Look what I found hiding in the bushes!” Fang calls up to the elders as we approach the group.
“Aspen!” Rafe turns, a hint of shock on his face. Though he’s trying to appear strong, knowing I’m in danger phases him.
I’m herded next to Rafe, who puts himself as close to me as possible, as if he could protect me from every side at once. It makes me feel safe. I would rather face this all at his side than watch him do it alone. I’m his alpha female, and I want to fight along side him for our pack.
Rafe looks at me, and I think he can sense this. Gathering his courage, he speaks loudly to the pack leaders above us. “Damn you and your idiot words, you old cretins. Aspen is mine, and I will always protect her. No matter what you do, nothing can stop me. A hundred of your wolves couldn’t keep me away.”
Turning to me, he nuzzles me affectionately. I can sense the worry in him, the tension, the seriousness. But for an instant, it’s as if we’re all alone in that clearing, just us. He looks up at me, the piercing blue of his eyes staring straight into my soul with an affection and sincerity that has been there all along.
“Aspen, I love you. I should have told you before, but I was waiting till you were mine. But I’m telling you now, before the fight…”
Hearing those words strikes me to my core, shaking my very foundation. All of the beliefs and prejudices I’ve held, all the frustration and wondering, is gone with his soft admission. And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I always have been his. And that he is mine. That truly nothing could ever stop us.
“I want to be with you,” he continues. “I’m not sure what will happen from here, but I will never leave your side if I can help it. You mean everything to me, Aspen.”
I can feel tears forming in my eyes, but I know I don’t have the time to let them fall.
“Rafe, I love you too. I’m sorry I was so stubborn.” I shake my head angrily. “I can’t believe I let us be apart. I only want to be with you, forever.”
We nuzzle even closer, feeling each other’s warmth, knowing that this beautiful, fleeting moment has to end. Maybe that’s what makes such moments beautiful.
Turning back to the elders, Rafe draws the line. “We’re leaving. Just try and stop us.” If Rafe was bluffing before, there’s no bluff in his voice now. He means what he says.
To our right I hear Fang laugh hysterically. The pack elders, however, are not amused by this. “It is clear you have no intention of resolving this peacefully,” the oldest says.
“If peacefully means leaving without the wolf that means more to me than anything in the world, then yes. That option was thrown out the window a long time ago, old one,” Rafe replies.
“So it is. Goodbye, son of Rowan,” the eldest decrees. With a howl he calls his pack, then turns and leaves, the other two at his side following him.
In an instant, the wolves congregated around us turn on us, converging on us with snarls and growls. It feels like they’ve multiplied since I last looked, but maybe it’s just because we’re surrounded. Rafe and I turn to face our assailants, standing side by side, facing opposite directions.
For a moment I truly felt invincible at his side, hearing the very thing my heart has longed to hear for years. But that belief is crumbling quickly as the pack closes in on us. So many of them.
“Aspen, I need you to do something for me,” he asks earnestly, not lowering his guard for a moment as he stares down his foes.
“Don’t tell me what you think you’re going to tell me,” I say.
“You have to trust me. My world would be meaningless if I lost you. You’re everything to me. Which is why you have to do what I say.”
“I trust you, Rafe.”
“Alright. When I move, I want you to jump as far over me as you can, and make for the trees. Find the van, and get out of here as fast as you can.”
“No Rafe, I won’t leave you!” I plead. I can feel my heart twinge in the sad irony of our confession. I can’t leave Rafe now. Not when we’re finally together.
“I can’t do what I need to do if I know you’re in danger,” he says back.“There’s no time.” He’s not kidding. The pack is quickly closing in on us, and are almost standing shoulder to shoulder in a complete circle around us.
“I love you, Rafe.”
“I love you, Aspen.” Rafe turns to me, and I drink deeply from the kindness and caring in those eyes for one last moment. No turning back.
With a shout, Rafe charges into the wolves in the direction of the tree line at the edge of the clearing, tearing into the wolves in front of him, using everything he has to tear them apart. Not wasting a single second, I follow behind and, at the very moment he collides with them, I use every ounce of strength in my hind legs to spring off the ground and into the air over them.
I hear Rafe shout behind me, “Go!” Followed by the sound of fangs tearing into flesh, though I have no way of knowing whose.
A chill runs down my back as I bolt for the trees, praying Rafe makes it out alive. I’m not a good fighter, and hopefully me being out of the way gives him the best chance to focus. If anyone can do this, it’s Rafe. The trees are thickest here, making it difficult to run at full speed, and this forest is foreign to me. I can hear several wolves behind me, the sound of branches and bushes stirring not far from me.
Damn. They must have broken off to follow me. I can’t look back though, or they’ll catch me. I keep my focus on what’s in front of me, dodging low branches, jumping over logs, and running as fast as my legs can possibly carry me. I follow the scent of Rafe back toward the van, hoping the trail stays strong enough to follow. Thankfully, I know Rafe’s scent very well from years of time spent with him.
Minutes pass, and I don’t feel any closer than I was before. Even with my vastly improved endurance granted by my wolf form, my lungs burn from the exertion. The forest feels endless, and I can hear the wolves behind me getting closer. So close I can hear their breathing behind me. And all I can think of is Rafe, alone in the clearing. Did he make it out? Is he ok?
As if in answer to a prayer, I see the clearing ahead. Taking a deep breath, I push myself forward just a little farther, knowing if I can make it to the van in time, I can escape like Rafe wanted. Well, maybe not escape, but I can hide in the van until he’s ready. Maybe find a phone to call Hawthorne.
The keys should still be in the ignition, and aside from a broken front windshield, the van should be in working order. So hopefully Rafe can meet me and we can drive away together.
But when I get closer, I see the van’s tires are limp and lifeless. How in the hell? But a quick smell and I can tell Fang has been here. He must have followed us from behind and slashed the tires so we couldn’t use it to escape, then came after me. I curse under my breath and realize I have very little strength left. A wolf can run for hours if he’s conserving energy and knows the terrain, but running at full, no-limits speed is unsustainable for long, and the exhaustion from the days events are catching up to me.
I’ll have to make my stand here, because no way in hell am I going to go down quietly when Rafe refuses to do the same.
Taking the only high gro
und I can see, I leap to the top of the van, digging my nails in to stop my momentum, and turn to face the wolves that have been following me, who are now entering the clearing.
For a moment they seem puzzled by the picture they see, a werewolf standing on top of a van, but they quickly get over it. Wasting no time, they approach the van, hoping to intimidate me into submission.
“Come down, we don’t want to hurt you,” one calls up to me.
“Just come quietly,” another chimes in.
“If you like what you see, then why don’t you come get it?” I call, baring my teeth at them and growling.
The wolves pause for a second, almost uncertain what to do about me at this point.
“Have it your way then,” the first wolf says, as he begins to pull himself up on the van, trying to grab at my legs. With a loud thwack I swing at him, my paw making contact with him, sending him flying off to the side. Maybe I’m not so bad at wolf fighting after all.
“I can do this all day boys,” I taunt.
However, out of the corner of my eye, I can see more wolves entering the clearing, surrounding the van. There’s at least 5 or 6 now, and the one I just batted has recovered.
I’m surrounded, and I don’t have the strength to run. I’ll have to fight.
Chapter 4
I have no clue how much time has passed since I left Rafe in the clearing. I’m beginning to regret the decision. If we were going to die, I would rather have died at his side, instead of here on the top of a van surrounded by angry werewolves.
Granted, I’m sure they’re not planning on killing me. At least, that would defeat the purpose of capturing me, but what they don’t know is that I’m not planning to let them take me alive. I won’t belong to anyone but Rafe.
Ultimate Alpha Boxed Set: A BBW and Wolf Shifter collection Page 17