Page 35 of Curvy Alpha Bride
It’s still dark when I finally give up and drag myself out of bed. I’m stumbling towards the kitchen to put on some coffee when I hear a horrible, ear-splitting scream.
My first thought is Mabel, but I’m certain the sound is coming from outside the house. I rush out onto the porch, and I can hear the screams moving away from me—as if someone is being dragged swiftly towards the woods.
I don’t even think, I just start chasing the noise. Along with the horrified screaming is a rustling, growling noise, as if a hungry wild animal is rattling its claws against a hard rocky surface as it anticipates its next meal.
No fucking way, not if I have anything to do with it! That’s one of my pack, and I won’t let you take them!
The scream dies down to a hopeless wail, the kind of sound a deer might make as a cougar opens the jugular and pours its life out onto the snow. I can practically smell the rush of hot blood on the ground as I pick up my pace, shifting into my wolf shape to cover more ground.
Suddenly, I’m knocked off my feet by something heavy, hitting me in the side. I crash to the ground, my breath blasting out of me, but I leap straight back onto my paws and launch myself at whatever struck me.
It growls as I barrel into it, then something else hits me from behind. I spin around, and that’s when I see I’m surrounded by wolves.
Wait… these are my wolves!
“Xavier,” Ivan gasps, shifting into his human shape. “You have to go back—now!”
“What the fuck?” I yell, shifting as well. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! I don’t know what’s going on out here, but—”
“Xavier!” Aunt Finnah cries, tears running down her cheeks as she shifts into her human shape and runs towards me. “Please go back. Please.”
“Someone is in trouble out there!” I yell. “Something attacked them—they need me!”
“Your pack needs you!” Finnah says, pleading with me. “Come back to town, I beg you!”
I look around at the others, recognizing Hector and Rhiannon in their wolf shapes. I get a creepy feeling that if I don’t turn around and go back, they might attack me.
Let them try!
“Finnah—” I say, trying to organize my thoughts into a coherent question.
She shakes her head and puts her hand over my mouth. “Not here—not now! Please, Xavier, trust me! Come home.”
I struggle with my emotions for a minute longer, staring out into the trees. The last mournful wail rings in my ears, the sound of a creature completely abandoned and devoid of hope.
No one should ever feel like that, especially a wolf with a full pack behind her! Why aren’t we sweeping the woods right now?
“Xavier,” Ivan says, taking a step towards me. “We must go. The rest of the pack needs your protection.”
I take one last look into the trees, noticing that light has finally begun to creep into the valley.
The only thing that would make me leave a fallen member of my pack is to protect the rest… I can’t let anyone else get taken.
Taken by what?
“Mabel,” I mutter, suddenly realizing that I left her alone. I shift into my wolf shape and run back to the cabin as fast as my paws will take me. The other elders surround me, but it doesn’t feel like they are supporting me in a hunting formation.
It feels like they are herding me… taking me prisoner.
When I pause by the cabin, I can hear Mabel inside, her even breath and steady heartbeat. Relieved that she hasn’t been disturbed, I keep going towards town, where I can hear raised voices. We are only partway down the road when we run into a crowd.
A large group of townsfolk is gathered in the middle of the road, all shouting at each other. Some are in their human forms, carrying weapons, while others pace outside the circle in their wolf forms. It seems the ones in human form tried to chase down the screams, but were stopped by other members of the pack.
“What’s going on?” I yell, shifting and striding into the mob.
Immediately, the noise stops, and everyone turns to look at me. A mixture of expressions races through the group—shock, fear, worry—but above all, on every face is guilt. And it fills me with red-hot, blazing fury.
Did they know this was going to happen?
