Traditions_The Sweetwater Pack

by Terri L Vest

  * * * *

  Silas and Roy were out on a typical daily patrol, discussing the plans to seek further allies in the effort to secure their territory. Silas knew theirs was the largest in the area and that had both good and bad aspects to it. The bad was that as they grew it was harder to have enough patrols to watch their borders. The pack growth had slowed over the last couple of years and that posed the problem of keeping the pack size large and healthy to tend to this size territory.

  As they walked along discussing the bordering packs, which were allies and which were a threat, a distress call was faintly heard off in the distance. Both wolves stopped walking to eliminate the sounds of their footfalls so they could listen more intently. Silas opened his alpha power up to the pack to see if he could identify who was in trouble. He immediately recognized the wolf. "REIKA!" he called out and immediately shifted and began running towards the call. Roy had shifted as well and was on his heels, ready to assist and defend the alpha's daughter with his life. As they raced through the forest, the call for help was cut short and Silas worried that he'd be too late. He didn't know what it was that threatened his daughter, he only hoped that he'd arrive in time. Anger began to build as he thought about who would have the audacity to attack his daughter. Everyone within miles knew who she was and to whom she belonged! Anger built to rage and rage built to fury as he thundered through the forest, heading in the direction the call once came from. Whoever it was would die today!

  * * * *

  Finn was careful not to let himself get caught up in the roll this time, and just before she completed the roll, he landed on her, feet planted on both sides of her body, and he lowered his head to grab her by the throat. He was going to make sure she knew who was in charge this time, and that she'd submit!

  Reika froze. This was not the Finn she thought she knew. This one was much more volatile and she didn't dare push him any further for fear of him losing control.

  Being of the same pack, each wolf had the ability to speak to the others mentally while in wolf form. Finn growled a deep, rumbling growl, full of anger and intent. "You will submit to me, my little wolf. You are mine to mate and the sooner you realize that, the sooner we can get on with our lives together. I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't submit, I won't guarantee your well being." Finn tightened his grip on her throat just a bit more to emphasize his point. Reika whimpered as his teeth threatened to pierce her skin. She knew if he managed to mate with her here in this spot, she'd be locked into a relationship with him forever.

  Reika's small size would make it an easy position shift for Finn, and her fate would be sealed forever if she didn't think of something fast. "Finn," she thought, "please don't do this. If we are to be mated forever, do you really want the first time to be out here, on the ground, with your teeth to my throat, holding no special memories to think back on? Is this truly the type of memory you want to give to me to carry forward and pass on to our pups?" she whimpered, as if to emphasize the awfulness of the situation.

  Finn lightened his grip just enough to move away from possibly piercing her throat as he replied, "You're only saying that to get me to let you go. Do you expect me to believe that you've changed your mind about denying me? I'm no fool Reika. I know that if I let you up now, you'll run away and my chance to have you will be lost. No, I know that the only way I will be able to keep you is to take you now. Then no one can take you from me!"

  As Finn moved his body over hers, preparing to take what he felt rightfully belonged to him, he loosened his grip on her throat to have the slightest of holds. As he moved to link with her, he was slammed into, knocking him off of her and sending him rolling several times away from her.

  Wondering what had just hit him, he shook his head and turned in her direction to find Silas' huge, dark brown wolf standing protectively between himself and Reika. Silas was almost roaring out his anger, with saliva slipping between his very intimidating canines as he bore his teeth, growling and snapping his jaws. Behind him stood his second in command, and Finn's father. Roy stood protectively over Reika as she lay on the ground, growling out his own threat to his son. Finn knew that his dreams of becoming alpha of the pack had just been crushed and he hoped that his place within the pack had not just been lost.

  Finn knew better than to try to get up without permission from Silas and he knew that permission wasn't soon to happen. He dropped his head to the ground and turned to face both Silas and his father. Finally, reason had returned to Finn and he knew there was nothing he could say to justify what he'd done. He only hoped that some form of mercy would be shown to him.

  "MERCY? You think I should show you mercy?? The same kind of mercy you were about to show my daughter?" roared Silas, having read Finn's thoughts. With each of those words sent through the mental connection, Silas had moved forward, closing the distance between himself and Finn. Finn lowered his eyes to the ground and rolled to his side in a sign of submission and respect. Approaching Finn, Silas growled and snapped his jaws as he stood over him. Sending out his alpha power, he pushed down on Finn causing him to cry out in pain, and he lowered his jaws to just above Finn's throat. Finn could feel the heat of Silas' breath and now worried that he was about to take his own last breaths.

  "Father, please don't kill him," Reika softly said, standing behind her father. She had returned to her human form and now laid her hand upon her father's back. Silas stopped growling and turned to look at his daughter. The furious look on his face had changed to one of confusion. He saw the indents of teeth marks on her neck and began to growl again. Reika could still hear her father's thoughts and she hurried to assure him of her condition. "I'm ok father, really. He didn't draw blood. I don't believe he intended to hurt me. My shift has it almost completely healed anyway, or it will be in a minute. I'm Ok," Reika said as she stroked her hand across his back trying to soothe him. In the next moment, Silas had shifted back to his human self and he quickly gathered his daughter into his arms. "I am so sorry, honey. I should have listened to you when you tried to tell me that Finn was not the one for you. Can you ever forgive me?" Silas asked as he buried his face into her hair in the tight embrace he now held her in. She could feel him tremble and knew that this experience had shaken him deeply. Not for fear of handling Finn, or any wolf for that matter, but rather for failing to keep his pup safe.

  "Of course I can, Father! This was not your doing. I know you were doing what you thought was right for me. How could you possibly know what was deep within Finn's heart? And besides, it was you that saved me, wasn't it? You're my hero! I Love You!" Reika voice cracked as she clung tightly to her father, hugging him with all the love she could put into an embrace. Silas chuckled at her youthful proclamation. "I love you too, honey, and I promise to listen to you from now on where your future happiness is concerned!" He gave her another tight squeeze, then released her to turn back to Finn.

  Roy was now standing over Finn, not allowing him to rise just yet. Silas could sense the anger radiating from Roy towards his son, as well as something else. Regret. He could hear Roy chastising his son and could pick up on the self loathing he was now feeling. He moved over to stand next to him. While glaring down at Finn, Silas addressed Roy.

  "You have nothing to feel regret for, Roy. I don't place any blame on you for what your son has done. I think he had us all fooled on the type of pack mate he was. You will carry no shame for what your grown son does." Silas stood tall and he turned to Roy, holding out his hand in a sign of friendship and forgiveness. Roy dropped his eyes in a sign of respect as he took Silas' offered hand saying, "Thank you, Sir. You are a kind and generous alpha. I am honored to be in your service." Nodding, Silas released his hand and turned to Finn.

  "YOU, however, have a lot to answer for pup! You are very lucky that my daughter has a kind and forgiving heart or you'd be lying here in pieces right now. You will be punished once I have a chance to think it over and decide an appropriate punishment for you. Until then you are confined to your quar
ters, do I make myself clear?" Silas asked, glaring at Finn. Finn nodded, keeping his eyes lowered to the ground, still in wolf form. Somehow, now laying at the feet of Silas, his size wasn't as threatening as it had been earlier. Silas continued, saying, "You may shift back now and I want you to head straight back, speaking to no one. If I see you, or hear that you have spoken to anyone, you will be sorry. Do I make myself clear?" Finn nodded, now in human form. "Good, GO then, leave me now. I will call you when I'm ready to see you," Silas ordered. Without another glance back, Finn took off running towards town.

  Turning back to Reika, Silas looked her over for any further injuries. True to what she said, her neck had completely healed, leaving no signs of the trauma it had endured. Silas wondered what had brought the two of them out into the woods. "Why were you two out this far away from any others. You say you didn't feel Finn had your best interests at heart, so why seclude yourselves?" Worry and confusion was clearly on his face and Reika hurried to assure him. "Father, I never imagined that Finn would turn violent and controlling. I knew that he treated me like a possession already, but never did I think he'd do anything to threaten or hurt me! He wanted to talk, and I didn't see the harm in that. I knew that you had planned a mating between us if I didn't find my own. I thought it was only right that I give it a fair chance, to honor your decision. One choice was inside, away from view, and I wasn't comfortable about being 'trapped' in that setting, so I chose a walk, which happen to take us into the woods. Now I see that it was all planned, to separate me from others and give him his chance to take what he wanted. I'm sorry to have caused you such distress, father." Reika dropped her head with the sadness of the worry caused to her father by her bad choice.

  Silas reached for his daughter, pulling her into his embrace. "Reika, my sweet pup, you have done nothing but try to honor your fathers foolish wishes. All the blame lies with Finn and he will pay for his foolishness," said Silas, ending with a threat in his voice.

  Roy had been standing by, keeping watch to allow his alpha and his pup the time to reassure and heal. This event had shaken them all to the core. Never would Roy have thought it possible for his son to attack the alpha's only daughter and threaten to take her against her will, or without the blessings of the fathers. Roy knew that Finn had seemed very ambitious in his wish to become alpha someday. They'd had many conversations about it. He couldn't help but feel responsible for this turn of events. If he'd have stopped the ponderings of his son right from the start, telling him it was impossible for him to achieve that with the alpha having three sons of his own, . . . maybe this could have been prevented. Roy had always felt that encouragement was a way to raise a self assured son, when actually all it had achieved was raising a son who felt he was entitled. Silas had assured him that the blame lie with Finn, but Roy knew that he had played a part in the outcome and was ashamed. He wondered how he could put things right again, to be able to sit as Silas' second in command without this heavy burden of guilt hanging over his head.

  Roy was deep in thought and missed the approach of Silas and Reika. The ability to block his thoughts from all but Silas was usually in place but his turmoil had let his guard down. As a result, Reika had also picked up on his feelings of guilt and her heart broke a bit with the heavy burden Roy had placed on himself. Using her eyes, she questioned her father for approval to approach Roy first. He nodded his agreement and stopped where he was as she moved forward.

  "Roy," she said as she touched his arm, eyes raised up to his in compassion. "Please don't do this to yourself. I apologize for picking up on your thoughts, it was unintentional, but I have and I know that you are carrying a burden that is not yours to carry. You have been loyal to my father for many years, and you've watched over his family like we were your own. Your position as his second is justified and appreciated! The actions of your son are his, and his alone. No one is going to judge you on his actions, and if they do, they'll answer to ME!" she said with a slight stomp of her foot.

  Roy raised his eyes to hers and a small smile slid across his face with the passion & loyalty held by one he'd loved and protected for so long. If only his son had an inkling of her strength of character! If the very one who had suffered the attack could look at him without blame or judgment, then he knew he needed to do the same for himself. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and pulled her into a fatherly embrace, whispering into her ear, "Thank you Reika. You are a treasure to more than just your father and I will die before I will let anyone ever hurt you again!" His voice was filled with emotion and Reika returned the embrace as she would to any family member.

  Pulling apart, Roy turned to Silas and dropped to a knee in submission. "I'm very sorry if that was wrong of me to do, sir. I just became overwhelmed with a fierce need to show my love of your daughter and swear my loyalty and promise of protection to her again. Please forgive me if I was out of line."

  Silas stepped forward and reached down to raise up his friend. "Nonsense, my friend. No offense taken! I understand your emotions, truly, and I thank you for your pledge to keep her safe," said Silas. "Now, let's get back to town and figure out what we're going to do with that son of yours!" The three shifted back to their wolf forms and headed back to town, missing the pair of eyes that had witnessed the whole scene. Knowing to keep up wind of the three to keep his presence hidden, he'd been very careful of his position.

  Foster had been heading towards the call for help from the moment he'd heard it but had been out of position to intercept it first. He'd arrived just as the largest wolf had taken down the attacker so he'd stayed hidden to watch to see how it played out. He could sense the connection between the largest and the smallest wolf and eventually picked up on the position the third rescuer held as second to the largest one. He still wasn't sure where the attacker fit in but did sense him to at least be a pack mate.

  Upon the returning shift of the small one, Foster was mesmerized by her beauty. She seem to carry herself with strength, grace and position, which helped affirm that she belonged to the large one. (which Foster believed to be an alpha) With his excellent long distance wolf vision, he had caught a glimpse of her techniques used to avoid her attacker and it showed the talents of a great strategist. He could sense a warrior spirit within her, one that would not be dominated. What he couldn't believe was when she stepped in to stop the punishment of the attacker! He didn't know if that made her a fool or of one possessing a very kind and compassionate heart. When it was over and he saw her offer comfort to the second - he knew it was a kind heart. Beauty and compassion all rolled into one magnificent package! At that moment he knew that he needed to find out more about her.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Foster Kennedy was the alpha of the rival pack bordering the Collins territory. He knew the Sweetwater territory was large and supported by several other packs, but his own Carbon County territory was the next largest one, and quite capable of maintaining it's own. Even to this day he wasn't sure why the two packs were rivals but something kept them apart and always fighting to prove their strength over the others.

  Foster was a strong and fair leader who held the respect of his entire pack. At 6'3" he was an impressive figure. In human form he was viewed as incredibly handsome with his dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. His tall, muscular physique sported a toned body with thick muscular arms and legs and broad shoulders that narrowed to a slim waist. To say he was desired by all the females in his pack was an understatement. His looks were enough to warrant their attention but his personality sealed it.

  If and when punishment was warranted he would dole it out with a swift and powerful blow, however, until clear proof of wrong doing was provided, he held that punishment at bay. He was kind and helpful to those who needed it and protective of his entire pack. Few could say anything against his leadership, and no one dared challenge him or the rules he set forth.

  But with all of this in his favor, he had yet to find his one true mate and as a result, a restlessness was building
within him, as were the expectations of his pack to have him prove he could help sustain the pack and grow their numbers. No one had to say or imply anything. Foster was fully aware of his duties to contribute to the growth of the pack as the leader.

  In times, when he was alone, he had begun to think it hopeless and started to wonder if he should step down and allow a mated pair to lead the pack. His own second, Jett Austin, had found his mate and they were working on their second pup. Foster hadn't even found his mate. Whenever he'd voiced his concerns to Jett, he'd been told not to worry about it. His leadership was what kept the pack safe and that was more important than mating and breeding at this point in time. Since no one had stepped up to challenge him yet, he decided to put it out of his mind for now and just deal with the duties of keeping his pack and their territory safe.

  After the events of the day, it had him once more considering whether or not his time had come for finding his mate. He had heard the alpha call out to his daughter by name so he knew that Reika was what she was called. Reika seemed to be an appropriate name for her. Strong, unusual and memorable, all of which she definitely was! After seeing her, he was now determined to meet her and see if they had a connection. He knew, given who he was, he'd have to keep his alpha status of the Carbon territory quiet for a while or she'd never give him a chance. If there was nothing between them, he'd quietly slip back into the unknown for her, no harm, no fowl for either of them. After what he saw, he felt it was worth the risk.