Broken Alpha

by Paulina Vasquez

“Is she a witch?” I heard Hades whisper to Odessa.

  “No, she’s elemental, like my brother.” She told him proudly.

  “We’ll have to leave the car here. We’re going to shift, kick some rogue ass and run the rest of the way to the pack.” Dimitri said.

  We stepped out of the car and shifted as fast as we could, our clothes shredded everywhere. A rogue jumped over the fire and Hades was the first to jump on him and sent his claws right into the rogue’s heart.

  “Lower the flames.” Dimitri told me.

  When the flames came down, Dimitri sent dirt and sand flying towards the rogues to blind them. Many of them howled as they were blinded. I almost laughed out loud thinking about the first time Dimitri did that to me. This trick never gets old, I suppressed my giggle. Dimitri turned and opened up a sink hole that took about ten rogues down. Rae was so impressed by her mate she let out a happy bark.

  I used the flames from the circle to send fire balls at the rogues. Two of them were engulfed in flames and dropped to the ground screeching and whimpering in pain. Another one who’s tail caught fire jumped into the river. Alec pounced on the rogue near him and ripped his throat out. Dom stomped his paw and the ground shook again, he floated swinging boulders in the air, and I continued to shoot balls of flames.

  The remaining rogues stopped the attack and ran off, there was no way they would be able to take out four black Alpha wolves and a Gamma. Dom unnaturally towered over all of us and they believed we had a witch. Dom tipped his head back and let out a howl. Hades returned his howl and the rest of us also joined in.

  Rae rubbed herself up against Dom and he nuzzled into her neck breathing her in. When all this was over, she was going to need some quality time with Dom. Alec gave a bark and motioned his head in the direction of our pack. Time was ticking. We continued to race back the rest of the way through the forest.

  Howls started ringing through the air as we approached. Our warriors and fighters were in fight formation ready for the coming attack. Spiro met us behind the pack house with an arm full of clothes. We shifted back and headed inside to the office. Niko, Clair, Knox and Rocky were all standing in the office.

  “Hades!” Rocky said and engulfed him into a hug.

  “You know each other?” Niko asked.

  “We’ve been friends since we were pups. His mother was from our pack.” Rocky said confirming what he had told us. “I thought we would see you at Leo’s funeral, what happened?” She asked.

  “Long story.” Odessa replied back smiling.

  “Odessa is my mate.” Hades told her.

  “Oh my Goddess! That’s wonderful!” Rocky screeched.

  “We’re not celebrating just yet. We’ve got a fight coming.” Dimitri said.

  “We did as you requested, we’ve set up and started fire pits burning around the entire pack territory for the Luna. The swimming pool is full, and the big water fountain is at maximum water capacity. Luna, we have fire hydrants throughout the pack territory as well.” Niko told us.

  “That’s perfect, thank you.” I said.

  “If you look closely, all the rocks and decorative boulders around the pack territory aren’t there by chance or just for decorations.” Niko grinned at me. That was actually a smart idea, to have elemental weapons strategically placed around the territory for Dimitri’s use. Maybe I could get him to build me a big pond.

  “Stefanos will have some unshifted rogues, they will be the biggest threat. They’ve got guns with silver bullets.” Hades said.

  “I think we need to put Raven in the bird’s nest and reinforce the steel around it for silver bullets.” Dimitri said.

  “What’s the bird’s nest?” I asked.

  “It’s a metal look out box on top of the roof, we call it the bird’s nest.” Spiro answered.

  “I’m not hiding, I’m the Luna. I’ll fight with my pack!” I said.

  “You won’t be hiding. You’re our greatest resource and surprise Raven. If they figure out what you are, you will be the main target. If you’re up in the bird’s nest, you’ll be in a bullet proof box able to control the fire and water attacks below. You’ll still be fighting.” Dimitri told me.

  “Better listen to him sis, you’ll be able to do far more damage with your elements from up above than on the ground.” Knox said and I knew he was right.

  “Alpha, I’ve got more steel reinforcement heading up to the bird’s nest, it should be ready in twenty minutes.” Spiro said.

  “Move fast Spiro, I don’t think we’ve got twenty minutes.” Niko said. “Alpha, the scouts report the rogues are almost to the edge of our territory.”

  Dimitri let out a growl. “Everyone in place now!”

  Chapter 40 – Attack

  “Be a good little bird and stay in the nest. Don't come out for any reason, understand?” Dimitri told me.

  “Okay.”

  “Keep the door locked from the inside. Don't open it for anyone. If you set one foot out this door, before I come back for you, I'm going to spank your bottom red!” He crashed his lips into mine. His kiss was hungry, demanding, and filled with emotion. The promise of another spanking sent an exciting quiver down my back. I couldn’t wait until this was over to spend time tangled up with him.

  “Please be careful.” I whispered as we broke away.

  “I'll be back as soon as this is over.” He said and closed the door to the nest.

  I was standing inside of a closet sized metal box, that was perched on top of the roof of the pack house and looked out over the pack lands. The fire pits were burning bright, if someone didn't know any better, they would just assume the fire pits were there to light up the grounds for battle.

  “Let's test the reach of our element.” Rae suggested.

  “Good idea.” I wasn't sure how well my reach would be from this far.

  I focused on one of the fires and its dancing flames. I closed my eyes and tapped into my own energy, feeling my own emotions flow through me. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, as I took a deep breath. I opened my eyes and willed the fire to rise, it moved a few feet higher into the air. I concentrated harder and it flared up ten feet more towards the sky.

  “Are you doing that?” Dimitri mind linked me.

  “Yes, just getting a feel for my reach.” I linked back.

  “Try the water too.” He told me.

  I willed the swimming pool water to rise and fall. “I can reach. I don't want to blast open a fire hydrant yet, it’ll cause a muddy mess before they get here.”

  “Some of our fighters got spooked, I guess I forgot to tell them their Luna has two elements. Niko just told them about your elements and that you're in the bird’s nest helping to protect them. They’re excited and very proud to have you as our Luna." Dimitri told me.

  “Where are the pups and vulnerable pack members?” I asked.

  “Our safe room is under the pack house, everyone who needs to be in there is safe.”

  Dimitri stood in the middle of the field in human form surrounded by our warriors. Niko and Alec stood in wolf form next to him as his second and third. Spiro is a sharpshooter and was positioned in the window of the attic. He had two other shooters with him and silver bullets of their own to neutralize shooters from Stefanos's side.

  I stared down at the open field and saw Hades, Odessa, Clair, Knox and Rocky standing behind Dimitri in wolf form. Knox had insisted on fighting to help protect his sisters pack and Rocky wanted revenge for Leo. I felt an uneasy tension in the air, and I knew Stefanos was close.

  A row of red eyes emerged from the tree line and growls filled the air from both sides. Niko let out a loud howl and the rogues charged forward. Dimitri stomped the ground and a huge trench opened up beneath a dozen rogues. I looked to the fire and willed it to fill the trench. “YES!” I called out as painful howls filled the air and burning wolves tried jumping out.

  “Nice!” Rae said to me.

  Dimitri sent a cloud of sand towards the other rogues running i
n our direction as our fighters clashed with them. More red eyed rogues came charging out from the far end of the tree line and I sent balls of fire at them. I hit four of them and their mangy fur caught fire. Another group of rogues charged from the opposite end and Dimitri brought a tree crashing down on a few of them.

  Our warriors and the rogues continued fighting. The rogues were vicious but didn't really stand a chance against our trained fighters. I realized the first attack of rogues was a distraction when I heard the popping sound of bullets coming in our direction.

  “They have shooters in the trees.” I linked Dimitri.

  “Spiro can't see them, can you send some flames to the trees, so they move or try to climb down?” He asked.

  “Coming right up!”

  I looked closely and spotted a tree with a shooter, I sent a ring of fire around the tree and willed it to start climbing up the bark. I heard a popping sound and the shooter in the tree fell. Spiro had hit the shooter. I did the same to a second and third tree and Spiro picked them off. Another shooter jumped down and tried to run, I aimed a ball of fire at him and hit him.

  I looked down and saw half a dozen wolves struggling with water bubbles around their heads. Knox had pulled water out of the swimming pool and was drowning six rogues at once. How did he learn to do that? I had only learned to hold one water bubble at a time. I was going to have to give my dad a piece of my mind when this was over.

  “Focus on trying multiple water bubbles at once. I have faith in us.” Rae told me.

  I was so frustrated the water burst out of the fire hydrant with little effort and I could feel the power of the water pulsing through the air. I looked at several rogues and imagined the water bubbles engulfing their heads. The water did as I wanted. All four of them thrashed around trying to knock the water bubble away. I focused my energy into holding the bubbles in place and two of the rogues shifted back and dropped to the ground. The other two struggled for a moment longer before they fell lifeless on the ground. I dropped the water and felt a little weaker myself.

  “Using this much elemental power is draining.” I told Rae.

  There was still, over three hundred rogues fighting with our wolves. I heard another popping sound and spotted a shooter hiding behind a big boulder. Before I could send a ball of flames at him, Dimitri rolled the boulder over on top of the shooter crushing him. Dimitri was still in human form and was waiting to shift, Dom was so big, he would have been an easy target for the shooters with silver bullets.

  Dimitri was insanely strong and able to kill rogue wolves without fully shifting. His claws and teeth had shifted so that he could rip out throats. I looked to see Hades tearing through any rogue that dared get close to his mate. Clair sent a rogue flying into the swimming pool and I willed the water to hold him underneath the surface. The more he struggled the harder I had to focus on holding him down with the water. My head was light, and I felt a wave of dizziness before the rogue finally floated up dead.

  “We need to rest.” Rae told me.

  “We can rest later, in case you missed it, there's an attack happening.”

  “We're getting weaker and weaker the more you use your elements.” She said.

  “It's because we haven't trained the way we should. Did you see Knox holding six water bubbles?”

  “Knox is also two and a half years older. He’s had more training and practice.” Rae reminded me.

  “I'll be fine.” I continued to send flying balls of flames at rogues.

  Dimitri sent more sand clouds towards the rogues still rushing in. He stomped the ground and tree roots came out tripping up rogues. Warriors around the field were dropping dead rogues everywhere, it was a bloody mess.

  I heard a yelp from Rocky, Knox growled and jumped onto the rogue who tried to bite into her neck. I tied to water bubble two more rogues, but the water moved slower and I dropped to my knees. I sat for a moment listening to the fighting taking place. I was out of breath and felt drained. Like someone who hasn’t exercised in a long time and over did it the first time out.

  A loud powerful growl rang across the field and the fighting seemed to stop. I managed to stand up and peaked out at the field. A couple of hundred warriors, from Eros’ pack, were at the edge of the tree line ready to attack us. They had sent the rogues in first before they sent in their trained warriors. In the middle stood a familiar looking black wolf who was unnaturally bigger than the typical Alpha. He looked just like Dom, except he was missing an eye.

  “Stefanos!” Rae whispered to me.

  “Look who decided to join the party.” Dimitri called out.

  Stefanos shifted back to his human form and a gasp escaped my lips. He looked so much like Dimitri. “I've taken Eros’ pack and now I'm back for my pack. When I'm done with you, I will take Georgios’ pack from your mate’s parents.”

  “In case you forgot, when you take a pack, you have to challenge the Alpha. The rightful heir to Eros’ pack is Hades and he's standing behind me. I hear you and Georgios, drugged him up and chained him in silver with your own daughter. I'm pretty sure those warriors you have are technically still bound to their rightful Alpha. Since you never actually challenged him, HADES IS STILL ALPHA.” Dimitri said for everyone to hear.

  “I will deal with Hades when I've dealt with you.” Stefanos growled.

  “And are you going to cheat with silver bullets father?” Dimitri said and several low disgusted growls were heard.

  “You're the one cheating, are you not? Both you and your mate seem to have unnatural talents. RAVEN MY DEAR, WHERE ARE YOU? Where did you hide her son? The fire is her handy work isn't it?” Stefanos called out.

  “You'll never get your hands on her!” Dimitri growled back.

  “Relax, I just want to meet your little Raven.” He smiled with an evil grin that looked nothing like Dimitri. Then he turned his head to the bird’s nest and his smile widened. He looked right at me with his one eye and I felt the urge to vomit. “What a suitable place for a raven, in the bird’s nest! Tell me son, is the bird’s nest bullet proof? I can't seem to remember if we made it bullet proof when we built it.” He was clearly trying to provoke Dimitri and I could feel his anger raging.

  “You have ten seconds to surrender the pack to its rightful Alpha before we turn the bird’s nest into Swiss cheese!” Stefanos demanded with a sick grin on his face.

  A familiar, thunderous, God like, growl ripped across the land and shook the ground. Everyone turned their heads and stood frozen at the sight before them. Even Stefanos looked like he had just seen a ghost. A beautiful golden wolf stepped out of the tree line, her teeth bared, her eyes glowing with fire. She looked like something that stepped out of Greek mythology and my father stood proudly in human form next to the wolf that emanated so much power.

  “IF YOU WANT A PACK STEFANOS, YOU WILL NEED TO CHALLENGE THE ALPHA AND FIGHT FAIRLY. ANYONE WHO FIRES OFF A SINGLE SILVER BULLET WILL BE INCINERATED ALIVE!” My father called out and my mother shot flames from her eyes that immediately turned dead rogues into ash.

  “AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” Stefanos demanded.

  “YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE, STEFANOS. WE’RE THE IN-LAWS!”

  Chapter 41 – Finally

  Dimitri's POV

  “Relax, I just want to meet your little Raven.” He said with a sick smile.

  “He knows about mate.” Dom growled at me.

  “We need to make sure and end him this time.” I told Dom.

  He turned his head to the bird’s nest. “What a suitable place for a raven, in the bird’s nest! Tell me son, is the bird’s nest bullet proof? I can't seem to remember if we made it bullet proof when we built it.”

  I mind linked Spiro, “tell me you had the chance to line the bird’s nest with another layer of steel?”

  “I did Alpha, but they won't be shooting regular bullets. We've never tested it against silver bullets!” Spiro linked back.

  “You have ten seconds to surrender the pack to its rightful Alpha befor
e we turn the bird’s nest into Swiss cheese!” My father demanded.

  I was about to unleash Dom and lunge at him when an earth shaking growl, with intense power, ripped across the land and shocked everyone. Greeks were taught from a young age to fear and respect the power of the Gods. I could smell the fear sweep the land as everyone realized what Lucy was. Even my father seemed to have realized what he was looking at.

  “IF YOU WANT A PACK STEFANOS, YOU WILL NEED TO CHALLENGE THE ALPHA AND FIGHT FAIRLY. ANYONE WHO FIRES OFF A SINGLE SILVER BULLET WILL BE INCINERATED ALIVE!” Alpha Diesel called out and Lucy sent flames from her eyes displaying a fraction of her strength by incinerating corpses.

  “AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” My father demanded.