Healing The Alpha Collection

by Jessica Ryan

  "Boyfriend?" Leena said, turning red. "He's not my boyfriend!"

  "I hear he's been at your house every night for dinner," Tank said, casually throwing a rock into the air and then catching it. "I guess your daddy's ready to marry you off to the mongrels in this town. I'd be embarrassed to have a daughter like you around too."

  Tank's eyes grew wide as Rowan caught the rock in mid-air. The beefy child hadn't noticed Rowan advancing on him and now they were face to face.

  "What are you going to do?" Tank asked. "Is he your boyfriend too?"

  Rowan started to turn away, but then suddenly spun, slamming the rock into the side of Tank's face. Tank screamed and fell to the ground as Rowan pounced on him. Storm started to rush forward but Aster was already in action. In two steps he had reached the smug bastard and had tackled him to the ground.

  "My dad was a good wolf!" Aster screamed. "It's your dad's fault my mom is the way she is!"

  Aster began to punch Storm in the face, driving his fists into the other boy's face with unchecked ferocity. Everything was a blur. He was barely aware of Tank screaming for help or Maple doing the same. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Leena had Maple in a headlock and was casually pulling her hair out in clumps.

  It was the first time Aster, Rowan and Leena would ever team up, but it damn sure wouldn't be the last.

  * * *

  Now he stood alone without anyone to back him up. His entire life Aster had learned to fight with Rowan and Leena at his side and in his later years the entire Dawnguard pack.

  They'd formed the pack after so many had lost their lives to Satan's Angels and now here they were again, facing down the hellfire pack without any sacrifice to appease them.

  This time it ends in violence, Aster thought as he quickly surveyed the situation. He was surrounded, but he didn't fear any of these wolves. This time someone dies. There will be no deal.

  His eyes darted to the faces of the Oakdale members who stood with the bikers. He knew Leena's kidnapping had to be an inside job, but why would they throw in with Satan's Angels if they were the ones who had kidnapped their queen? Unless it was all a ruse to throw Aster off so they could strike unnoticed.

  Aster smiled. How could he have been so foolish? Demons operated by ancient rules that humans didn't understand. Abaddon couldn't break a pact unless he had an excuse to. When the Oakdales kidnapped Leena, he had an excuse to attack and finish what he'd started ten years ago. Aster didn't know why Abaddon hated them so much and at this point he didn't care. The demon was a dead man walking.

  "Who's first?" Aster asked.

  From behind a scream pierced his ears as a biker rushed in, a chain swinging over his head. He swung it at Aster with all his might, but it wasn't good enough. Aster easily caught the chain in one hand and yanked with all his might, pulling the biker off his feet and sending him careening into one of the Oakdale wolves.

  "He's strong," Archie Sanders, a low-level Oakdale member, said to the leader. "I told you he's stronger than any wolf I know!"

  Everyone else began to advance, but Aster easily ripped the chain out of the fallen man's hand. Like a scorpion's tail it struck, cracking Archie across the face. Blood spurted as Archie cried out in pain and grabbed his broken orbital bone. Aster swung the chain in circles over his head, keeping all the attackers at bay.

  Finally one of the bikers shifted, revealing a mangy gray wolf. He snarled and charged, but Aster sidestepped and whipped the chain, catching the wolf around his neck and yanking him out of the air. The wolf hit the ground with a satisfying crunch as the bones in his neck snapped.

  The others began to get the same idea and Aster knew he could not win this fight as a human any longer. His body cracked and shifted as his snout elongated and fur sprouted all over. In just a few seconds he had exploded into the largest wolf anyone had ever seen. His fur was nearly blue as he stood his ground, snarling and snapping at the other wolves. He was nearly as big as a full-grown grizzly bear, towering over the other wolves.

  The leader of the attack was recognizable. He had shifted into a large black wolf with gray streaks through his hair. He was much bigger than the others, but still not as big as Aster. He snapped and charged, trying to catch Aster off guard. The alpha wolf's reflexes were too great, though, and he reared up and brought both front paws down on the creature's head, smashing him into the floor. The other wolf yelped as Aster's jaws closed on the back of his neck, easily snapping the tendons and bones underneath.

  As bloodlust consumed him and he finished off the strongest threat, Aster felt a searing pain around his hindquarters. One of the other wolves had darted in and attacked him from behind, getting a good shot in on him. He spun around, teeth gnashing as he caught another one coming in for a rear attack. With ease he finished the would-be attacker off and turned to the rest.

  They still outnumbered him four to one, but they were beginning to back away, each realizing the folly in attacking an alpha with the strength of Aster.

  Aster was determined to finish each and every one of them off; there would be no escape for those who sought to harm him or his wolves. Bucklin was divided into five packs, but Aster was alpha over them all. He was the father and they were all his pups.

  The others began backing towards the door as he advanced, saliva dripping from his powerful iron jaws as he set his hate-filled eyes on his next victim.

  They heard it before Aster did; he was too focused on destroying each and every one of them. Each wolf snarled and began advancing towards him, no longer afraid. The situation became clearer as the sounds filled Aster's keen hearing. Motorcycles, at least six of them, had pulled up out front.

  Aster heard shouting as the new arrivals shut off their bikes and began to dismount. The odds were decidedly against him now. He could stand and fight, but that would be foolish at this time, especially if Abaddon was with them. He had to gather his people, rally an army to take back Bucklin.

  The other wolves stepped back in surprise as Aster turned and ran for the large picture window that overlooked his front yard. Right before he reached the window he heard them bark and give chase, but it was too late. With all of his eight hundred pounds he slammed into the window, shattering the glass as he exploded into the air above the front yard. The newly-arrived wolves had entered the house, leaving the front yard empty except for one lone sentry.

  Aster shifted in mid-air, becoming a hulking, naked human who was now plummeting to the ground on top of the sentry who could only look up and scream in horror.

  The man's legs shattered as Aster landed on top of him, slamming him to the ground. He screamed out in pain and tried to reach for a weapon, but Aster ended his visit to the world of consciousness with a well-placed hammer fist to the jaw. He grabbed the man's bike keys from his belt loop and hopped onto the bike that he had been standing by, hoping it was the right one.

  The other bikers appeared in the doorway, shouting and reaching for weapons as they ran onto his porch. The bike roared to life as Aster started it, bringing another smile to his face. With his middle finger extended he slammed the vehicle into gear and screeched out of the driveway, leaving his enemies in the dust.

  Chapter 3

  "Where are we?" Leena asked.

  "We're just outside town," Aster said, leading the girl he had always had a crush on down the path on the hill.

  "My dad is going to be so angry, Aster," she said. "He doesn't want us wandering this far."

  "It's cool," Aster said. "He's busy with Rowan at the wrestling tournament today."

  It had been six years since Aster had met Leena and a lot had happened in their lives. When he was ten Aster's mom had finally succumbed to her depression and passed away. The doctors just couldn't figure out what was wrong, but Aster knew exactly what it was: a broken heart. He vowed to never let the old ways take a loved one from someone again.

  Luke had begun preparing both Aster and Rowa
n to become alpha in his stead over the last several years. Ever since Aster's mother had passed away he had lived in the Phoenix residence with Luke's two children.

  It had taken several years but eventually Leena had warmed up to Aster and eventually she had begun hanging around with him a lot more. They had never shared more than a held hand or a brief moment of eye contact followed by embarrassed giggles, but even Luke could not deny the chemistry between his only daughter and the confused, packless boy he had brought in off the street. To this day he hadn't opened his mouth in protest, making Aster wonder if it was ever going to come.

  But right now, in this moment, he was doing the only thing he wanted to do: be alone with Leena. Together they had shifted and run outside of town to a spot right beside the river. Aster had found it while wandering a few weeks back and wanted to show it to Leena more than anything. They had packed a change of clothes and put them around Aster's neck after he shifted.

  When they arrived Leena harshly told him to look away and not turn around until she said it was okay. He'd been very careful around Leena all these years; she knew he had feelings for her but he'd kept it as secret as possible so as not to upset the balance of the household. Leena had been very careful never to tease him, but the attraction was undeniable.

  "Here we are," Aster said, letting go of her hand and showing her the lake in front of them.

  "This is it?" Leena asked, shielding her eyes from the sun reflecting off the crystal water.

  "What do you mean, this is it?" Aster asked. "Isn't it beautiful?"

  "I guess," she said, sitting down on a log that someone had cut to be shaped like a small bench. "I thought you were going to show me something out there, like a dead body."

  "Why would you want to see a dead body?" he asked, sitting beside her.

  "I don't know." Leena shrugged her shoulders and looked at Aster. "You don't think it'd be cool? All pale and clammy with tattered clothes?"

  "I guess, but I think this is really cool too."

  "What are you, some kind of tree-hugger?"

  "Well, now, I just like to find the beauty in the world."

  Leena leaned back, putting her hand on her chin and giving Aster a shocked look. "Well, Aster, I didn't know you were such a sensitive guy! I learn something new every day."

  "I'm not that sensitive," Aster said, looking at the ground. "I just know we're part wolf, and that's gotta mean something with nature, right? I mean, were we intended to live in the forest or in a house? We have one side of each."

  "So you believe in the old ways?"

  Aster's eyes grew dark and he could tell by the way Leena recoiled that he'd given her a nasty look. "No, I don't. The old ways are what killed my father."

  "But you just said you don't know where we're supposed to live."

  "I don't, but we've made the decision to live like humans and that's what we should do. If we're going to live like humans, then we can't go around murdering each other to obtain a higher position in life."

  "Humans murder each other every day."

  "That doesn't make it right. They get punished for it. Wolves should be punished for murder just the same."

  "And what would you do, Mr. Junior Alpha?"

  "What?" Aster turned back to her, trying to hide the shock on his face. "What are you talking about?'

  "Don't think I can't tell how you try to be like my dad. You've even grown your hair out like him. I know you want to be alpha, I can tell."

  "Well, that's a joke," Aster said, looking away. "Everyone knows Rowan is next in line to be alpha."

  "What if Rowan doesn't want to be alpha?"

  "He does, so there's no need talking about it."

  "He does?" Leena asked, giving Aster a knowing look. "You could've fooled me. So let's just say he doesn't."

  "Then I would lead the way your father taught me."

  "Daddy doesn't like the old ways."

  "Neither do I."

  "But he still observes the old ways to appease the older wolves like Forrest."

  Aster looked back at the ground, trying to fight back the anger inside of him. He would have to work with Forrest if he was ever head alpha, because he couldn't kill the bastard. His father knew what he was getting into, that much was true.

  "I would concede on some things to keep harmony," Aster said. "But on other things there would be no compromise. There wouldn't be any of this challenging for an alpha position and fighting to the death. There wouldn't be any more shifting and terrorizing humans who got too close to our land. There would be no more eye for an eye."

  "And you think you can enforce this, Aster?"

  "I would do my best, Leena, I promise."

  Leena smiled and laid her head on Aster's shoulder. "I think you'd be a good alpha, Aster, but I think we'd lose our wolf under you."

  "Why do you say that?" Aster asked. He could feel goose bumps all over his body as a shiver ran down his spine. Her hair felt so soft, her skin so smooth and her smile was so beautiful. He could live in this moment for the rest of his life with the most beautiful girl he'd ever met resting peacefully against him.

  "You want to get rid of the old ways," she said, not moving her head. "That's what keeps us tied to our wolf. Without them we're just humans who can turn into wolves hanging out and living human lives. Why would you ever need to shift after that?"

  "Why do we need to shift?" Aster asked. "We can be human."

  "I don't want to be human," Leena said. "I'm a wolf, a werewolf according to the humans. I want both sides to be connected."

  Aster didn't answer her. Instead, he felt a different connection, the one he had with Leena at this moment. They were silent for at least ten minutes, both of them just staring out at the beautiful lake in front of them. It was like a million tiny diamonds were sitting on the surface of the water, just shining back at them.

  "You're right," Leena said.

  "Mmm?"

  "It's beautiful," she said. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Isn't it?"

  "It's not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Aster said, feeling sweat beginning to gather on his brow as his heart started pounding. He didn't know why he was saying the words that were flowing out of his mouth, but he couldn't help himself. She had to know.

  "What is, then?" Leena asked.

  "You."

  They were silent for several more minutes before Leena sat up and looked at Aster. She sucked in a deep breath as their eyes locked.

  "I…" he started to say, but he wasn't able to finish. Leena nearly jumped into his lap, her lips meeting his own. At first he tried to pull away, scared of the consequences of their actions, but as her lips continued to dance across his he realized they were doing nothing wrong. Everything about this was right. He had never felt more right in his life.

  Aster put a hand on the back of her head, keeping her pressed against him as he returned her kiss. Occasionally her tongue would dart out of her mouth, teasing him. He wanted so bad to take this farther, his young hormones raging, but he knew that wouldn't be smart.

  Finally he pulled away, breaking the passion between them.

  "What's wrong?" Leena asked.

  "Have you ever kissed a boy before?" he asked.

  "No. Have you kissed a girl?"

  "No."

  "Then what's wrong?"

  "I just don't think we should take it too far. We're only kids."

  "Oh, Aster," she said, leaning over and pecking him on the lips. Just that one tiny kiss sent electricity throughout his body. "You're so responsible. You'll make a great alpha."

  "I don't want to kiss anyone else," Aster said.

  "I don't either, babe," she said, putting her head on his chest and hugging him. "Never again."

  Together they sat on the bench staring at the water until the sun began to dip over the horizon, returning to its point of slumber.

&
nbsp; "We should go home," Leena said. "My dad will be home soon."

  "One more thing," Aster said.

  "What?"

  He went over to a large tree and pulled out a knife, smiling and then turning to the tree. After he had peeled the bark away he began to carve something.

  "A and L forever," Leena said as he finished carving.

  Aster turned back to her, studying her as she read it. Her eyes began to sparkle with tears as she read it over and over again. Finally she dove into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck as she hugged him tight.

  "Forever," she whispered.

  Chapter 4

  As Aster roared away from his mansion, bare-ass naked with the wind flying down his backside, he wondered how long it would take for his enemies to give chase. Within seconds he could hear their bikes roaring to life, but he already had a damn good lead on them.

  He wasn't much of a biker, but he had ridden motorcycles before and he knew his way around them. It wasn't difficult and soon he was alone on the open road leading into town.

  The moon stood high in the sky as the trees and darkness moved to envelop him. Fortunately he was made of sterner stuff than a mere human and didn't frighten easily at the sight of a dark and lonely night. Still, he had to admit it was a little eerie to suddenly be roaring down the highway by himself when just seconds ago he had been surrounded by so many enemies.

  The calm allowed him a chance to clear his mind and catch up on what had just happened. The Oakdale pack had betrayed Bucklin, that much he could figure out. It also appeared they had kidnapped Leena, but in actuality it wasn't a real kidnapping because Abaddon seemed to be in on it. Which led him to his next, most important, question: where the hell was Leena?

  His heart swelled with the thought of the love of his life being alive and well somewhere within his town. When he had thought the pact could be preserved he had excused himself from the situation and sent Hawk after Leena. He still didn't know the results of Hawk's mission, because he had holed himself up in his mansion ever since Hawk had left, hoping that she could be quietly returned.