Rise of the Alphas

by Alexis Davie

  Talon started to approach the hunters, while Pike focused his attention solely on Owen. He didn’t want to kill the guy—just hurt him enough to scare him away for good, but knowing the tenacious blood which pumped through Owen’s veins, Pike knew he wouldn’t give up until he had Pike’s head on a stick in the trunk of his car.

  The arrows from the crossbows of the other hunters did little to no damage to the massive wolves, and most of them were deflected by their giant paws. Talon went into attack mode and grabbed the nearest hunter, ripping him to shreds within a matter of seconds. The other hunters hesitated for a moment, but Owen ordered them to continue their attack. Talon motioned to Pike that he was perfectly fine with three hunters heading his way, and Pike had absolutely no doubt that Talon could handle them.

  Another arrow pierced through Pike’s fur and he growled angrily at Owen. He pounced, landing right in front of him. Pike swatted his paw at him and sent the crossbow flying through the air. Owen scrambled toward the crossbow’s location in the tall grass, but Pike grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him down onto an overturned tree trunk. “Get the hell away from me, you mutt!” Owen shrieked, but as he caught sight of Talon making minced meat out of the other hunters, his eyes widened. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

  Pike bared his teeth and a low growl emanated from deep inside his throat.

  “I’ll have you know that Farrah wanted to come along. She wanted to kill you too, but I wouldn’t let her. You know why? Because I look after my family.”

  Pike growled once more and he pressed his paw against Owen’s chest, his claws ready to sink into his skin.

  “Pike, stop!”

  Pike glanced up and his entire body froze. Farrah stood about twenty yards away, her eyes wide, and her hands raised in the air.

  “Get out of here, Farrah!” Owen exclaimed.

  “Pike, it is you, right?”

  Pike nodded slowly but kept his grip on Owen.

  “Get the hell out of here, Farrah. He’s going to kill you!” Owen ordered.

  “No, he won’t.” Farrah approached Pike carefully and while he appreciated her trust in him, he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t kill Owen. “Pike would never do anything to hurt me.”

  Pike’s muzzle relaxed, hiding away his fangs, and he realized that killing Owen wouldn’t make things better, especially not with Farrah here. He didn’t want her to see him as a monster, which she probably already thought, and he moved his paw away from Owen. He stepped back and turned away. Allowing his human form to take over, he lowered his gaze as he collapsed into a heap in the tall grass.

  As Pike opened his eyes, he noticed Talon watching him with a knowing look in his eyes and Pike shook his head. He knew exactly what Talon was thinking but now was not the time.

  “Pike, are you okay?”

  “Him?” Owen exclaimed angrily. “What about me? He almost killed me!”

  “Because you killed one of his Betas,” Talon called out as he walked toward Pike, both of them back in their human forms.

  “Is that true?” Farrah asked and glanced at Talon.

  “He killed Reed, in a snare trap.”

  Farrah glared at Owen and shook her head.

  “Well, they killed Dusty, and the rest of my hunting group.”

  “What did you say?” Farrah whirled around and stared at her brother.

  “Your precious little Dusty had been keeping tabs on you for me the entire time.”

  “He knew about everything?” Farrah asked.

  “He did.”

  “I can’t believe this. You are such a liar,” Farrah spat contemptuously.

  “I did it to protect you,” Owen exclaimed. “Just like Dad used to do! You would be dead if it weren’t for me and Dad!”

  “Shut the fuck up, Owen!” Farrah shouted.

  “Those wolves are nothing but a bunch of animals, Farrah. He doesn’t love you, he can’t even love himself!”

  “Careful what you say, human,” Talon warned, his dark eyes flashing viciously.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Farrah called out, holding her hands in the air and looking at Pike, who was still crouched down on the ground. She approached him and knelt beside him. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re bleeding.” Her tone was filled with concern, as well as a hint of guilt.

  “I heal fast,” he muttered.

  Farrah wiped away a trail of blood that ran down the side of his face.

  “I didn’t think you’d come back to me,” Pike grimaced.

  “Neither did I, but I couldn’t just let him kill you.”

  “He’s never had the capability to kill me, Farrah,” Pike answered. "And he’s definitely not going to start now.”

  “Wanna bet?” Owen called out to them.

  Pike and Farrah looked over at Owen, who had the crossbow pointing directly at them, and slowly rose to their feet.

  “Owen, put that down,” Farrah requested.

  “No fucking way. I’m killing that mutt once and for all,” Owen growled.

  “Owen, stop this, please.”

  “Get out of the way, Farrah,” Pike ordered. “I can handle this.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have to.”

  “Farrah, trust me on this. I can handle it.”

  “The mutt is right, Farrah. Get out of the way.”

  “No,” she called out. “You two can’t hurt each other without hurting me. Do you really want that? Either of you?”

  Pike stood frozen on the spot. Her words rang true, as it didn’t matter who killed who—Farrah would still end up losing someone. He didn’t want that to happen. He was done with hurting Farrah. He just wanted her to be happy and safe.

  Owen lowered the crossbow and sighed with annoyance.

  “I love you so much,” Farrah said to Pike and then glanced at Owen, “both of you, so I can’t allow you to kill each other, because that would kill me. And I don’t want that.”

  “You’re right, Farrah,” Owen said with a sigh, “but at least our lives will be better without him.”

  Owen raised the crossbow, pointing it straight at Pike’s heart, and fired. Much to Pike’s surprise, and in a complete turn of events, Farrah jumped in front of Pike, taking an arrow to the shoulder. Pike’s eyes widened as he watched her collapse onto the grass.

  “Farrah!” Pike exclaimed and rushed to her side.

  “What the fuck, dude?” Talon exclaimed at Owen as he rushed over to where Pike was.

  “Get to the car, Talon,” Pike ordered.

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” Talon exclaimed again.

  “Talon, car, now!”

  Pike stared at Owen, who still had the crossbow in his hands, but wore a guilt-ridden and helpless expression on his face. Pike just shook his head and turned his attention back to Farrah, who lay on the ground breathing raggedly in discomfort.

  “You’re going to be okay, just breathe.”

  “Oh my God. Being shot with an arrow hurts more than I thought it would. You didn’t even flinch,” she cringed.

  “I felt it too, but I guess I’m just used to it.”

  “That sucks,” she gasped.

  “I’m going to get you to a hospital, okay?”

  “Yeah, please.”

  Pike grinned swiftly and gently scooped her up in his arms. He turned around, and without even looking at Owen, called out, “Are you coming, or what?”

  “Yeah,” Owen said, and walked toward Pike, still carrying the crossbow.

  “Yeah, you might want to lose that. The doctors might think you were trying to kill your sister with it,” Pike pointed out.

  The thud of the crossbow falling on the ground made Pike’s jaw clench, but he concentrated on making it back to the car as quickly as he could. Luckily it was only a short walk back to the road. Hopefully, the arrow hadn’t perforated an artery, because if she died in his arms, Owen would pay for it with his life.

  That was a pr
omise.

  7

  The rhythmic beeping sound of the machine beside her bed slowly and gently brought Farrah back to a conscious state, and her eyes haltingly opened. The room was dimly lit, the curtains tightly closed. She turned her head and noticed Owen sitting on the chair beside the bed, and she groaned as the memories of the events preceding this moment came rushing back to her. The wolves, Owen and his hunters, and getting shot by Owen’s crossbow.

  Another groan escaped her throat. Owen smiled at her.

  “Hey,” he whispered, almost too afraid to talk too loudly. “How are you feeling?”

  “Okay, just a bit groggy.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said and reached for her hand, but she moved hers away. Owen lowered his gaze and said, “Look, I’m sorry I shot you. That arrow wasn’t meant to hit you, Farrah.”

  “Whether it hit him or me,” she pointed out, “it wouldn’t have mattered. It would have still hurt me. Don’t you get it? I love him, not because he’s got some kind of hold on me, or compelling me to feel this way. I wouldn’t have jumped in front of him to take an arrow to the shoulder if it wasn’t real.”

  “But what if he hurts you?”

  “He won’t.”

  “What if he does?”

  “Then I’ll deal with it. This isn’t my first rodeo, Owen.”

  “But he’s a wolf. Dad fought so hard to keep us safe from them, and you go and fall in love with one. Isn’t that just a slap in Dad’s face?”

  “I wish I could slap you in the face right now,” she muttered.

  “I’m serious, Farrah.”

  Farrah tried to push herself up into an upright position, and Owen rushed to her side to help her.

  “I’m okay,” she waved him off. “Now, you listen to me. You believe Pike is such a monster, but why did he let me go? He didn’t hurt me at all, he didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do. He even took me to some underground lair of his where he told me everything about Dad, something you never did.”

  “I wanted to protect you, Farrah, and Dad made me promise not to tell you.”

  “But that was before he died,” she muttered angrily. “Were you with him the night he was killed?”

  “No. He told me to stay at home and look after you.”

  “Like he knew he was going to die?”

  “I don’t know, Farrah. Maybe he just didn’t want both of us to die, leaving you all alone,” Owen answered.

  “So he knew he was going to die,” she repeated.

  “That doesn’t necessarily mean—”

  “Can you stop trying to protect me and just tell me the fucking truth?” Farrah responded.

  Owen’s eyes widened as a silence fell over the hospital room.

  A knock on the door broke through the silence and Owen breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Come in,” Farrah called out.

  The door opened and Pike stood in the doorway, holding a bouquet of flowers and a bag of takeout.

  “Hey, you’re awake,” Pike said with a smile, but that smile faded as he noticed Owen standing beside the bed. “I’ll go.”

  “No,” Farrah said firmly. “Stay, please. I need to talk to both of you.”

  A sudden and momentary flicker appeared in both Pike and Owen’s eyes, which would have amused Farrah to no end if she hadn’t been so pissed off at both of them.

  Owen sat down on the chair beside the bed again and Pike walked around the bed to greet her.

  “Hey,” he whispered as he touched her cheek. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ll live. I’m so high on pain meds right now, I don’t even feel the gaping hole in my shoulder,” she retorted.

  “Technically, the surgeon closed the hole—”

  “Shut up, Owen,” Farrah muttered and rolled her eyes.

  “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “Now sit. We need to talk.”

  “Well, this is going to be fun,” Owen griped.

  “Yeah, I bet,” Pike grumbled in return.

  “Shut up, the both of you. I’m the one who’s going to talk now, okay?” she said and glared at them, her tone firm and filled with annoyance.

  The two men nodded wordlessly and waited for her to talk.

  “My whole life, I felt safe and protected, because I had my dad, and my older brother who looked after me,” Farrah said and looked at Owen. “You and Dad kept me safe, but you also lied to me, which I didn’t even know at the time. You can argue with me until you’re blue in the face that you were just trying to protect me, and in some cases, I may believe you. It doesn’t change the fact that you lied. Maybe I was too young and stupid to believe the truth at the time, or realize what exactly was happening, but you could have told me. I felt lost after Dad died, Owen. So much so that I felt I had to leave. I felt empty and I couldn’t be in that house anymore. New Orleans was good to me, and I was happy. Then I saw something I shouldn’t have, and I got kidnapped.”

  She paused for a moment and glanced at Pike. “By your Betas. You held me captive for a few hours, and something happened to me, to both of us. It was something neither one of us could explain. I felt it from the moment I was dragged into your office. It felt as though my whole world stood still for a second. I tried to convince myself that it was illogical and irrational. I couldn’t possibly be in love with someone so soon. Then I read about it in my dad’s journal and he talked about this feeling. He called it True Mates, and there was a paragraph which specifically explained exactly how I felt, and still feel.”

  “There’s no such thing—”

  “Did I say you could talk?” Farrah interjected, cutting Pike off completely.

  A smug smile formed on Owen’s mouth and he suppressed a laugh.

  “You believe that there’s no such thing, then how do you explain the feelings you have inside you?” Farrah asked Pike, but when he didn’t answer, she scoffed. “Exactly. You can’t. I’m not saying it exists, but these feelings didn’t just come out of nowhere.”

  There was a moment of silence in the room as Farrah took a breath and turned to her brother. “I love him, Owen, and I know that he loves me, even if he’s trying to act like a tough guy, and tries to deny it. I know you two hate each other, by association only, but I need you two to get along, not just for me, but because you’re going to be in each other’s lives for a long time. I don’t want you to constantly be at each other’s throats.”

  “And this is what you want?” Owen asked as he leaned in closer to Farrah.

  “This is what I want, Owen. He is who I want,” Farrah answered honestly and with all the confidence in the world.

  Owen’s jaw clenched, but he lowered his gaze. “If that’s what you truly want, I guess I am going to have to get used to him being around.”

  “And it would be nice if the two of you didn’t try to kill each other. You need to let the past go and just look toward a better, more peaceful future” Farrah said, looking at both Pike and Owen.

  “I only attack if I’m being attacked,” Pike pointed out.

  Owen stood from the chair and rolled his eyes. “I’m going to get some coffee. Does anyone else want some?”

  “That would be great,” Pike answered with a grateful smile and stood.

  “I’m good. Thanks, Owen,” Farrah said.

  Owen nodded quietly and left the room. There were a few seconds of silence between Farrah and Pike, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

  “I can’t believe you took an arrow for me,” Pike softly said as he walked toward the bed.

  “You would have done the same for me, right?” she asked.

  “In a heartbeat,” Pike nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his. “But you could have died, and I would have never forgiven myself if that had happened. I never wanted to put you in danger, Farrah.”

  “You didn’t. The danger just seemed to find me all on its own. You didn’t send Talon and Reed to...” Farrah gasped and l
ooked at Pike with wide eyes. “Is Reed really dead?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. The snare trap severed his spinal cord and he died almost instantly.”

  Farrah shook her head. “I am so sorry. How is Talon doing?”

  “He’s broken, to say the least. So am I. We knew him for such a long time, and he was a part of our family. It’s a great loss for all of us. He was a great guy and a fierce fighter.”

  Farrah placed her hand over his and squeezed his hand in reassurance. “I don’t even know what to say.”

  “Did you really mean what you said in front of your brother?” Pike asked. “About loving me and that I’m going to be in your lives for a long time?”

  “I meant every word, Pike. Being away from you, and thinking that you didn’t want me, broke my heart, and it sounds so weird to say those things after only knowing you for a day, but,” she explained and paused for a moment, “with you it just feels right. Is this all making sense to you?”

  “More than you will ever know,” Pike told her and lightly brushed her cheek, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “When I was a kid, I had this friend. He was reckless and impulsive, but he was the best friend I ever had. We went scouting in the woods, much like last night, and he was killed. He was shot down by a hunter because of me. He wouldn’t have been there in the first place if I didn’t practically beg him to go.”

  Farrah nodded sadly and noticed the self-loathing in his eyes. “It’s not your fault he got killed, Pike.”

  “I felt it was, and I blamed myself for a long time. I had allowed my feelings to get in the way when I avenged his death, and I vowed to never allow my feelings to determine the choices I made. Which was why I shut down so easily when I let you go. Outwardly I looked fine—distant and cold—when in actual fact, I was torn apart and broken without you. I tried to forget about you, and the time we spent together, but I couldn’t. I wanted to protect you, because I thought your life would be better without me, despite me being miserable.”

  “You were miserable without me?” she asked with a small smile.

  “You know I was,” Pike pointed out and caressed her cheek slowly, his fingers skimming her skin. “I want you, Farrah, and I know it’s not the kind of life you wanted, or pictured for yourself, but it’s the life I was born into. If you don’t want to be a part of it, I understand.”