Page 19 of Alpha's Baby Girl
Chapter 10 - Fenrys
As soon as the trial began and the she-wolves scattered into the trees, I shifted into my wolf form. I had placed several backpacks of supplies—food, a change of clothes, water—at different intervals in case any of them couldn’t find enough prey to feast on. Water wouldn’t be a shortage for the trial time, but I didn’t like the thought of no emergency packs.
I didn’t know if Graham knew, or if it was permitted, but nobody had stopped me.
At the very least,Iwanted emergency supplies.
My wolf wanted to learn the scents and presence of all five she-wolves left. So, as they took off, I ignored the tracker that stayed clasped around my front paw, ensuring that when I shifted it would remain on me, and let my instincts take over. There was Shiba, heading right, towards the large expanse of river. She’d have enough to feed and water herself, but shelter was few and far between.
Dakota, the she-wolf I’d seen Thalia spend a lot of time with, headed left, towards the mountains. I watched as she shifted, her body bending and accommodating her wolf form. Quickly, I shifted and tore after her. Her wolf was a pretty gray color, a long-haired wolf, and shewaspretty, but I knew where my gaze was drawn to when the she-wolves all entered the room. I knew who I thought of when alone and pictured my future, Luna. She would have already been by my side if I hadn’t been a fool three years ago.
Dakota and I ran together, and I couldn’t deny how exhilarating it was for my wolf to run alongside a female. Her gray coat and smaller build were an attractive contrast to my black fur and taller wolf. I would see her to shelter, to make sure she knew where she could find food. While this was a trial ofherinstincts, if she needed my help, then I wanted it there.
She playfully nudged into me, and I growled happily back, cutting across her path.
As we weaved out of each other up the mountain path, I could sense her happiness, her scent drenched in it, and it was overwhelming for a minute. As my human mind faded away to give way to the wolf’s nature, I let go of any guilt I would feel for rejecting the other she-wolves. My mother was right: I needed to follow my heart, and I couldn’t ignore where it was leading me.
Leaves on branches whipped past me as we ran, scratching at my fur. With each pound of my paws into the ground, I shuddered at the elation that this brought. This was what I wanted. To be surrounded by the environment my wolf knew best. To give in to alpha instincts, to hunt and survive.
Dakota stopped at a specific underbrush. The sound of a stream wasn’t too far away, and I could smell it. Some salmon populated the water. She would be okay here. She whined, pawing at some brush that covered a rockface. A cave. Up ahead, dark clouds were passing over the woods, and I worried for all of the wolves. They would be capable—they wouldn’t have entered—but if anything happened to any of them, then it was my responsibility. This was one of the many reasons I hadn’t wanted the damn Mating Games. There were too many uncontrollable components. My mother of all people should have known that being responsible for strangers’ lives were a worry for me. My pack was a different story; they pledged their loyalty to me, and I only invited people into my pack who proved themselves. I know this was what the Mating Games were about, me learning about them, but it still got under my skin.
I helped Dakota clear away the cave entrance. Inside, it was deep and dark, cool enough to build a fire in her human form if she’d need to. I gave a huff in the direction of the stream and bared my teeth to tell her she could hunt there. Then I gave her a long look, and she ducked her head, accepting that I would leave. Her tail half tucked, her body arching.
The evening grew dark with the storm, and while I could stay sheltered with Dakota, there was one wolf I wanted to find before nightfall. Soon, a long howl broke the silence of the darkening evening.
I sprinted away from Dakota and scented Thalia on the wind. But when the coppery scent of blood accompanied it, I let out a snarl, and followed it. My alpha instincts were going into overdrive at the thought of my rejected mate being hurt alone. A low growl tore itself from me at the thought of anyone bringing harm to her. I ran along the mountainside until I found another stream, and followed it upriver, tracking the scent of blood.
The storm continued to roll in, and I could only hope the rain stayed off to track Thalia better.
I whined when I splashed my way into a shallow stream, and found wet skid tracks on a rock, blood, and, in the water, Thalia’s tracking device. Sniffing at the blood, I followed the scent east. Her trail went on for long enough that I panicked. She was in wolf form, and something about it gnawed anxiety through me.
I told myself this wasn’t like what had happened with my father. It couldn’t be.
Thalia wouldn’t be fatally injured.
But my protection of her went into overdrive, and I grew frantic as I searched the river for a slumped wolf form.
The clouds grew darker, the sky opened, and the rain began to pour fast and steady. It hurtled down, soaking me to the bone. I should have scoped out the area instead of immediately tracking her, I should have brought an emergency pack with me, should have been on foot, should have—
A whine cut through my racing thoughts, and I growled again, louder, letting her know I was here. I searched the darkness for Thalia, a gleam of white fur, anything—
There.
She was half-submerged in the river as she whined. Those golden eyes were half-lidded, on me, as I stalked towards her. She lifted her head, looking down at her back leg, where she was bleeding, and whined again.
Slowly, I nuzzled into her face, nosing along the fur on her neck. Vanilla and apples. I resisted a pleased noise at it.
I huffed at her and sat down once before standing back up to tell her to stay put while I scoped out shelter for us nearby. She looked northward, her eyes flicking in that direction, before landing on me again. I nodded.
There was a cave not dissimilar to the one I’d left Dakota in, and as I hunted around, I found one of my backpacks not too far away. The rain pounded my fur, flattening it to my body. By the time I dragged the pack to the cave entrance and returned to Thalia, she was shivering and whining.
I shifted into my human form, cursing at the cold. “Thalia, can you shift?”
I dared to place a hand on the side of her face, brushing over the wet fur as her
eyes flickered over me. “Is your injury bad?”
She huffed, and I had to assume that meantno.
