Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
His hands went around my waist, and I moved my mouth with his as he did.
He picked me up in his arms and carried me inside, Kai and Brax following as we made sure we spent our time together forgetting that danger rested in every dark corner of our lives.
Because every single time we thought we were safe or let our guard down, more threatening things revealed themselves.
I knew things were just starting with the Fractum effects, but with my alphas’
hands and mouths on me in the privacy of our suite, I could pretend for a few hours that everything was okay.
26. The Beauty
LORELAI
It had only been three weeks since the humans had settled into Wolf Territory, but it felt like it had set something in motion.
Maybe it was a coincidence, but it had been a constant fight since then.
The humans were hunting for the wolves closer to the city, getting more bold and violent, but because the wolves were slowly going mad, they were loving the challenge, tearing through them every chance they got.
It was a bloodbath.
I was stuck in the mansion, not because I wanted to be or my alphas kept me there but because I had to be. My magic held a barrier around the place now.
The wolves were volatile and sometimes got the human scent and lost control. But we couldn’t punish them for what they couldn’t control. Even the humans that were with us knew it wasn’t their fault.
The pack hated what they had become, the link was fucked, and it had been a while since any of us had seen anything but each other.
We were like a volcano, a slowly erupting volcano, and the wolves were ready to go to war, but the humans that my father headed were getting clever, had poison and weapons that were lethal.
We had lost countless of ours and they had lost so many of theirs, but there was no rationalizing. My father was officially a madman, and the wolves were beyond reasoning with.
Even my alphas were spending more time as wolves to connect with the pack easier and help with their control, but there was only so much they could take on before they started losing the grip they had on their own turning.
It was terrifying, especially when the baby could come at any time and winter was already thick in the air. The snow had started falling, the air crisp at all times of the day and night.
I could barely carry the coats I had been given on my body with a stomach that now stretched my dresses.
My mother had been helping, soothing the aches and pains with whatever she could as she worked tirelessly with Galen to create concoctions for the humans to survive in the treacherous conditions.
The realm really had turned, like it was punishing every single one of us, and I had no idea how to get the balance back.
I didn’t even know where to start to figure it out. Maybe my father, but I couldn’t get near him in my condition.
Actually, no one could. The wolves had tried going after him, but he was staying deep in the villages with his army protecting him well. It was useless.
And now with the cold and winter in the air, we couldn’t cover our tracks as easily.
With the way the wolves were, it was even more difficult. They couldn’t follow plans, they kept going off on their own, letting their savage side take over.
My brother had been a huge help though. He had been spending his days with me when my mother couldn’t, helping my body cope, helping me not worry, and distracting me whenever one of my alphas had to leave to help the pack.
Brax was always close too, helping the humans, but even he was wearing thin.
The entire city was morose and somber, filled with nothing but fear and chaos. It was not something I wanted to bring my baby into, but I wasn’t going to have a choice if we couldn’t sort out the divide between human and wolf.
I hobbled along the hall, my coat wrapped around me, still shivering as the cold seeped beneath to attack my skin. Brax walked with me, heading outside to where the women had gathered.
With everything turning to shit in the city and outside it, I wanted to know the humans were going to be okay and could defend themselves.
I descended the patio stairs into the garden clearing, shivering as the wind whisked around us. The humans were cold too, but I needed them to be in the weather, I needed them to understand that while the realm was against us, the conditions were too.
“Ladies, time to train up. We’re not going to let the men take over and be in control of us anymore.
“You didn’t escape to let them come in here and take what they think is theirs. You are not their property anymore.”
“But it’s all we’ve ever known,” one of the ladies said.
I wasn’t sure what her name was, though I was trying to remember all of them. My mother was the one with the crazy good memory. I was growing a hybrid baby, that was hard enough.
“Maybe, but that was before. Now you know what living with wolves is like, now you know that there is another option,” I said to the woman, who looked like she just wanted to snuggle up with a blanket by the fireplaces inside.
Tough. The fire needed to be inside all of them if they wanted to survive the rest of the humans and Fractum, not to mention the winter with a whole bunch of psycho werewolves.
“But we’re not them. We don’t have weapons like they do or teeth like the wolves.
You expect us to win with a couple of punches and kicks in the right spot?” she piped up again.
I grinned, shaking my head, stepping away from Brax, who always preferred to hang back so he could sense everything easier.
“No. I expect you to do something they’ll never see coming. I expect you to fight back,” I said, and let it sink into the silence.
My mom’s clapping broke that silence, and then they all clapped before waiting for my next instruction.
I smiled and turned in the heavy wind to face Galen, who was watching from a small sitting area with his tea. He nodded, and I turned to the bushes where Anetta came forward.
She was a little more wary than usual, looking tensely over the humans like they might be the ones to bite.
“She is in control?” I whispered to Brax, and looked over my shoulder as he nodded.
“Galen gave her some herbs; she’ll be subdued for the next hour or so. I’ll keep an eye on things. Just do your thing, Spitfire.”
He nodded toward the humans and I smiled, my heart tightening at the trust and love I felt in our bond.
But not just that–it was the respect. That was more than I had ever had, and my alphas never questioned it. I loved them all the more for it.
I turned to the humans, and Anetta came to stand next to me.
“I’m Anetta. I help the alphas. I’m going to be honest, doing this is extremely hard for me, but I want the fighting to stop.
“I want to be out of the initiate phase of the pack, and I especially want you all to be able to fight back against what is coming,” she said honestly.
I appreciated it, but I wasn’t sure how the others were going to take her brutal honesty.
The wind whistled louder and harder, and I shivered, pulling my coat tighter before stepping back a little to let Anetta take over.
“I’m going to teach you how to defend yourselves. How to land a hit that will give you time to figure out your next move, whether it be run or get a weapon,” she explained.
I had been training with my alphas since they were the only ones they trusted to land a hit, but they went easy on me.
I told Anetta to get the humans used to her and then don’t go easy on them. My father wouldn’t for betraying him. Neither would the wolves.
I moved to stand next to Brax, and he hung his arm around my shoulders, kissing my cold cheek before pulling my lips to his and kissing those.
Anetta started her lesson, and I hung back, watching her show the women things they had never even seen before. It was slow.
The wind picked up, the skies grew darker, but I didn’t feel like it was a warning for us, more like an ominous warning for everyone that the imbalance was brewing, that the war was going to be coming soon.
It hung thick in the air between everyone.
I huddled closer to Brax, and he held me tight, like he was trying to keep me together as much as my magic was.
I was beginning to understand why human bodies weren’t made to carry wolves. It was one of the most difficult things I had ever done.
“I hope this helps.” I shivered, and Brax nodded.
“It will. Even if they don’t pick everything up, they’ll feel better, and right now, we need that,” he said.
I nodded. We were both feeling the weight of the darkness keeping so close. Like no one had enough light feelings to give our shadows the right feeling inside us.
We were both constantly on edge, and for Brax, it was worse. I had our child to keep mine as light as possible, but he didn’t. He had the humans to feel, the wolves, all of their feelings and despair as we lost wolf after wolf.
My mind went to Kai and Derik, who were out there fighting with another part of the pack where a group of humans had been spotted around the east wall.
I hated that they had to leave the protection I had in the mansion, but they had to.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?