by Teagan Wilde
Brantley stayed back. He wanted to be there for the children with Olive. Randall and Jackson are coming to help fight.
Damon steps out in front of everyone and looks into the woods. He throws his head back, breathing deeply and taking in the scents. He looks at me. “I can smell Ken here.”
What the fuck? I never expected that. I look at Maverick, and I can tell he is thinking the same thing.
I have never seen Damon look so fierce and eager for battle. Oh goodness.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, letting the scents wash over me. My eyes open at Ken’s smell. He is here, or he has been here.
“This will end tonight.” Damon still has that look on his face; the beast is taking over. My body is shaking with anticipation of what is about to come.
“Ready?” Damon asks everyone.
“Ready.” The word floats through the air; then every single person changes into wolf or bear form. I move up to Damon’s side in my wolf form, and he presses his hand to the top of my head.
“Let’s do this, Moon,” he says to me softly; then he changes, his clothes ripping and falling off his body. I butt my head against his, and I lick the side of his face. He raises his head and lets out a howl, and we all join in. This is letting the fuckers know we are here. We are not going to murder them in their sleep, we don’t go that way. Damon takes off and I am on his ass. Maverick is on his other side. I hope that Ken is here, so I can finish what I started, in my old pack, all those months ago.
When I think of the old pack, it doesn't seem real. It feels so long ago; life was so different. I was stuck in a small cabin, next to another single girl. The rest of the pack was older and just tired of life in general. The pack was dwindling away to nothing, with no passion or goals.
Damon runs into the woods with me on one side and Maverick on the other. The rest of the pack follows except for Elizabeth, who is sitting in the Hummer with a guard. We invade the pack’s property. This pack is in bad shape. The houses are falling apart, the grass is dead, and it just looks lifeless. This is shifter hell. We take pride in our land and our homes, and here it doesn't seem like they care.
One by one, they run out of their houses. Damon heads straight for the biggest house on the property, where the alpha would live. I stay right on his ass, and Maverick swerves off to the side and takes out two shifters who are running toward us.
Our packmates are holding back our adversaries while we confront the alpha. One slips through, and Damon pushes him onto his back and disembowels him, using his claws. Damon jumps back to his feet, and we continue running toward the alpha’s house.
The door is open, and an older man steps out on the porch. He looks at Damon and then changes into his wolf form. I sit back on my haunches; this is Damon’s thing. This is what he needs to do. I will make sure no one sneaks up on him.
This is between Damon and the alpha.
The alpha jumps, hitting Damon hard. I wince but I don’t make a sound, because it could be a deadly thing to distract him. A smaller wolf tries to grab the backs of Damon’s legs, and I grab her by the tail. She tries to bite me, and I realize this woman has absolutely no fighting experience.
I knock her over, my face against hers, growling deeply. She turns her face to the side, whining. I sit on her and go back to watching Damon.
Wolves are all around me, and Jackson and Maverick are watching my back, making sure no one else tries to sneak up on me.
On a porch across the field, a bunch of young girls are watching everything happening around them. They are terrified. I can see from here they are dirty and their clothes are in shreds. And all the wolves in this pack are underweight. Life is not easy here. It’s not fair—the alpha is supposed to ensure that everyone is provided for.
The wolf under my butt starts to move. I snap at her neck and she settles back down. Damon is fucking vicious; he is biting every part of the alpha wolf that he can reach. The alpha is not as skilled; he just sends his pack members to be slaughtered.
Everything starts to settle down as most of the shifters fall to the ground in defeat, exposing their necks to our wolves in submission. You have to give them this, they are loyal.
Damon changes back to his human form, and I am shocked that he would do that. That is something that never happens.
“CHANGE!” he yells to the alpha, and I watch as he changes into human form. He should not even be an alpha,; for it took so little effort to overpower him. Damon doesn’t even have a scratch on him.
“Everyone change back!” Damon yells. The power hits me like a ton of bricks, and many people stumble. I stand up, getting off the girl. I change, and she does too. I look at her in horror; she is just a small girl around the age of thirteen. She looks terrified. “I will not hurt you,” I tell her, but she does not look convinced at all. She is almost curled into a ball.
I turn my attention back to Damon, who has the alpha by the neck. “You are a fucking sick alpha. One of the worst I have ever seen. You are selfish and pathetic and do not deserve the title of alpha.” Damon shakes his head in disgust.
There have been no deaths, only injuries. These guys are unfit to fight, and my guys knew this. The rest of the pack walks out onto the field, and I am sickened at the sight of everyone. The women are so skinny; shifter women are naturally curvy or muscular in build. These women are way underweight. So are the kids.
“Damon,” I say softly. I look at the women and kids. Their mates are crawling over to them as best they can. This is so sad.
“Look at what you have done,” Damon snarls, shaking the alpha and forcing him to look at everyone.
The unhappy faces.
It is breaking my heart; it’s in my nature to make sure my pack has whatever they need.
“You don’t deserve to die easy, you deserve to be fucking starved and forced to fight when you are not able to do so. But I want you to die seeing the faces of the pack that you hurt. The ones you were supposed to protect and take care of.” Damon wraps his hand around his jaw and twists, breaking his neck. “Everyone get your clothes on and we will meet here, to talk,” Damon says.
Elizabeth runs into the field with her guard, and Maverick looks like he is about to stroke out at the sight of her. “Eliza, what the hell?”
She laughs and hands him some clothes; then she brings some to me and Damon. “Thank you,” I say.
Damon and I slip on the clothes. She brought me leggings and a shirt. Damon pulls me against his chest. “Did you see how skinny they are?” I whisper softly, not wanting to upset anyone.
“That’s why all the guys just subdued everyone, they are all half starved. Their homes are just pieces of wood over their heads. I will make it right for them.” I nod. Damon pulls back, looking down at me. “I bought more territory, and I will keep on expanding and expanding until there is room for everyone. Everyone needs a home, this should never happen.”
“You are right, Damon, this has made me sick to my stomach.” My stomach churns again at the sight of a two-year-old looking at us from behind a tree. I wave her over, and she looks behind her and runs to us. I squat down in front of her. She has blond hair that is curly at the ends and freckles dotting her nose. “Hey, sweet girl, where is your mommy?” I ask her, and she just looks down at the ground. Her skin is filthy, and her hair has gobs of dirt in it.
“She doesn’t have any.” I turn around and see an older woman standing behind us.
“What happened?” I look down at the girl, who is sucking her thumb. She is so little.
“Her mom’s mate was a bear. She was seeing him in secret, and then she went into labor. It couldn’t be hidden anymore. They killed her mate and she died with him. We have all pitched in what we could to feed her, but we were not allowed to take her in. She is two.” Her voices trembles at the last part.
I shake my head in disbelief and look at Damon, who is also deeply affected.
“Can we?” I take his hand.
He nods immediately. “I had
the same thought.”
I smile and rest my head on his shoulder; then I kneel down in front of the child again. “How would you like to come live with me and Damon?”
She looks up from the ground, her huge blue eyes hitting me hard. “Home?” she says.
“Yes, home with me.” I push her hair out of her face. She steps closer and I pull her to my chest. She holds onto me like I am her lifeline. Her skin is ice cold.
“Elizabeth, do we have any blankets?” I ask. She looks at the little girl and then at me. I mouth to her, “I will need you later.” She nods and runs back to the vehicles, with Maverick following close behind her.
Damon presses his hand to the child’s back. “You are safe, sweet girl,” he whispers, and her body relaxes. He kisses my forehead and moves to address the pack, which is standing, waiting for Damon’s orders. “I am Damon, the alpha of The Knights Pack. I am Damon Knight. I am here to make a change. No pack should live this way, and the alpha sold a little boy who used to live here. He made multiple attempts to take the little boy.”
Jackson growls at the mention of his son. I imagine how terrified I would be if something like that happened to Axel.
“I am here to offer you a deal.” They all step a little closer. “The deal is you can come to my pack, where you will have a proper home, food, and everything you could possibly need, but you will have to go through an extensive training process. Who here still wants to hurt my family? My pack?” Damon presses all of his authority into his words, and no one can resist. “Step forward if this is so.”
Two guys step forward, and Jackson and Randall drag them out into the woods.
“My pack is a family, we support and care for each other. You will be protected and all mated couples are welcome. Even if you are mated to another species of shifter—like a bear, for example—or you are gay. We do not discriminate.”
A woman falls to the ground, crying. “I can call my mate and have him come?”
Two guys collapse onto each other, crying. They have kept it hidden. Tears fall down my face. These people have been through so much.
Damon presses his hand to the small of my back, and the little girl in my arms lays her head against him. I smile. I have a daughter. I will make it my mission to give her a happy and full life. I cannot imagine what her life has been, with no home or parents, having to go from place to place, begging for food. I am sick.
Elizabeth moves up beside me and hands me a blanket. I cover up the little girl, and she touches the blanket before tucking it under her neck. Her eyes close, and I rock her from side to side.
“We will send SUVs for you in the morning. Just pack the basics since your houses come stocked.” Damon tells everyone.
The other pack is still just standing around. I can see they are shocked, and I can tell these people have been sheltered from the outside world.
“What is her name?” I ask the older lady who told me about the little girl’s history.
“Hope.”
Damon reaches down and takes her from me, holding her so gently. I fix the blanket to make sure she is covered. We shifters run warmer than humans, and her skin is cold, even for a human. It’s fifty degrees outside and she is like ice.
“Jackson, will you drive?” Damon asks. Jackson has become a huge part of the pack. He is right below Maverick. Damon opens the door, and I scoot over to the middle. Damon gets in next, still holding Hope. Elizabeth and Maverick get in too.
Damon is staring at the back of the seat in front of him. I think we are all a little shaken up by the state of the pack.
“I can’t believe this little girl has fended for herself at the age of two…” I trail off as the magnitude of everything sinks in.
“I should have made the alpha suffer more,” Damon says through gritted teeth.
“I think we should have all made him suffer, the whole pack has been half starved,” Maverick says.
“There was no fight, it was like fighting children,” Jackson tells us.
“This is step one of changing the future,” I tell everyone. We all smile and I lean my head on Damon. We are headed home to my baby.
Farren
When we get home, Hope is still in Damon’s arms, and I run to Brantley and grab my son, smooching his chubby cheeks. “I missed my son.” I breathe in his baby smell.
I carry him over to Damon. He kisses the top of his head, and I smile. He is such a loving father.
“Who is that?” Brantley peeks at Hope, who is still wrapped in the blanket. I look too and see she is awake.
“I will explain.” Jackson motions for Brantley and kisses the shit out of him. I laugh at Brantley’s dazed expression.
Damon sets Hope on the counter, and the blanket falls to the floor. She looks even skinnier now that she is in the light. “She is at least twenty pounds underweight at first glance,” Elizabeth says. “She needs some Ensure, like the human kids drink.”
I turn my head, my heart hurting for this little girl.
I take out my phone and text Alex, a member of the pack who gets stuff for us. I ask him to get Ensure, vitamins, clothes, and other stuff Hope will need, and he agrees. I look out the window and see him driving off the property. “He is on it.”
“I think that is all that is wrong with her. She needs a bath, a good meal, and a warm bed. I will help you bathe her, so I can examine her more closely.”
Damon takes Axel from me, and I smile at Hope. “Let’s go take a bath shall we, honey?” She nods and I lift her into my arms. She lays her head on my shoulder; she is a sweet little girl. Elizabeth follows me upstairs, and I take Hope to a guest room, which will now be her bedroom.
“Ohh, let me go grab some baby wash and shampoo that we use for Axel. We should have some clothes that fit her too, since we got stuff for when he is older.” I hand her to Elizabeth and grab what we need, including some towels. Hope is standing at the entrance to her room, and Elizabeth is standing behind her. “She wanted to watch you.”
“She might be scared,” I mouth to Elizabeth. I take Hope’s hand and lead her to the bathroom. I turn on the water and help her undress and get into the tub. I hand her some toys to play with. Her little knees are covered in bruises and scratches. Her feet are the worst because she didn’t have any shoes. I try not to cry as I wash her hair. Elizabeth puts her hand on my back, trying to comfort me. Hope looks at me. “Why you cryin’?”
I smile at her sweet little voice. “I am just so happy that you are living with me now.” I rinse her hair.
“Foreber?”
I look her straight in the eye. “Forever.”
She smiles for the first time since I met her; she has dimples. “She is so cute.” Elizabeth says.
“She really is.”
I help Hope out of the tub, letting out the water. I lotion her body and put on a shirt and sweatpants; then I brush her hair out.
“Want me to carry you?” I assume her feet are hurting. I put some antibiotic cream and bandages on them. She shakes her head and takes my hand. I help her down the stairs and into the kitchen, where I smell food. Damon has been cooking dinner for everyone.
“Smells good, baby.” I tell him, and he turns around and looks at Hope. “Well, if someone doesn’t look like a princess.” She smiles and I let her hand go, and she walks over to Damon. He picks her up. “You want a bite?” He hands her a bite of potato, and she pops it in her mouth. Her eyes widen and she reaches out again. “Here, I will bring your food to you.” He walks her over to the table, where he has set out a booster seat we bought Axel for when he is older.
There is a knock at the door, and I see Alex with bags of stuff. I help him bring in everything, and I pour some Ensure into a cup with a straw. “Thank you for doing this.”
“No problem.” Alex waves off my thanks and is back out the door. He is such a good kid.
I put the drink in front of Hope, and Damon brings her steak chopped up into little bitty pieces and a potato. “Elizabeth told us she can ea
t whatever we eat, it just needs to be smaller,” he says. He is so thoughtful. Hope reaches for a piece of steak and holds it up like she is confused. “You eat it, sweet girl.” She puts it in her mouth and chews.
I take the cup. “Here, you drink this.” I put the straw to her mouth, and she takes a small sip. She takes it from me and finishes almost all of it in a few seconds.
“I will get her some milk.” Damon laughs and goes into the kitchen.
“Tomorrow we need to fix her room, she needs a toddler bed. You think we should put her in the crib tonight? We can lower the bar for her.”
“That is a good idea, I wouldn’t want her falling out of a regular bed.” Damon comes back with our food and another cup of milk for Hope, with two waters tucked under his arms. I sit down on one side of her, and Damon is on the other. We dig into our food, hungry from the fight earlier.
Hope doesn’t say anything, focused on her meal. She doesn’t know what she wants to do, drink or eat. When she only has a few bites left, she falls asleep against the arm of the chair. “I will take her.” Damon picks her up.
I follow him upstairs. He lays her gently in the crib and pulls the bars most of the way down, so she doesn’t fall out but she can get out by herself if she needs to. I turn on the light in the bathroom so she can see if she needs to go. Damon pulls a blanket over her and kisses her forehead. “Goodnight, angel.”
My poor heart.
I hear Axel cry from our room. “I think someone is hungry.” I take him out of the bassinet and feed him. I sit on the edge of the bed until he is finished.
“Goodnight, my son.” I kiss his cheek, my heart filled to the absolute brim.
Damon takes him from me and kisses him. “Good night, future alpha.”
I laugh softly at the title. Damon takes my hand and we shower together—nothing sexual— we want to feel each other, take comfort, and let the horrible day just wash off us.
The Next Morning
Damon
The next morning, I feel something touching my cheek. I open my eyes and see Hope standing in front of me. “What is it, honey?”