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A Breath

Darren stepped lightly onto the porch of the packhouse. His sister, Lydia, sat with Grace, her daughter, in the wooden rocking chairs just beside the door. They were both occupied with patching the blanket that belonged to his nephew, Pierce.

"I'm grateful that only one of my pups will have this problem. After it is repaired, we shall store it until he has better control of his wolf."

The young pup had a night terror and shredded the fabric in his sleep. He was very fond of the item however, so his mother determined to repair it.

"Darren. Join us! Perhaps Grace can share a story that will wipe that scowl off your face," Lydia called to him.

Darren turned to her with a raised brow.

"Do you not think me handsome, dear sister? Is my scowl not charming? That would explain my difficulty in courting."

Lydia scoffed while shaking her head. "You could have any female you wanted and you know it. You're the one who can't seem to decide."

Darren rolled his eyes.

"Sincerely, brother. Just pick one. Just because they're not your mate doesn't mean they wouldn't be lovely. Or make fine pups." She winked.

"But what of Pierce? If I am to mate, my pups would become alpha. Would he not be disappointed?"

Lydia growled playfully, "You are so difficult. I'm sure Pierce would be a fine Alpha. But he is Beta. That is his place. That is his right."

Grace looked up from her work, "Speaking of Pierce. Where is he? I haven't seen him since his tantrum this morning."

"He's in the wood. Most likely testing his claw shifting since he just discovered it last night! Each bit has been so exciting for him. Darren was it so exciting for you?" Lydia questioned.

"I don't want to talk about that, mother! It's so unfair that only boys get to shift!" Grace huffed.

"Not only boys, dear."

"Oh, fine. Like the rare few female shifters even count! I think I'm done with this work for now. I'm going to start my school work befo-"

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!

A high pitched squeal came from the Eastwood. Lydia jumped to her feet.

"That's Pierce!"

In an instant Darren was barreling through the trees in his wolf form. His nose quickly picked up the scent of blood. He heard two packmates join behind him. He strained to hear any unusual sounds from the wood.

*He shouldn't be out this far.*

As they reached a hallow, Pierce came into view. Darren's hackles stood on end as his saw the bodies lying mere feet from his nephew. He quickly stood in front of Pierce as Grayson, his Beta circled the strangers.

*Rogues. Two male. Dead. These are fresh wounds, alpha. Whoever did this isn't far.*

There was another scent mixed with the blood of the rogues. A third wolf.

Darren transformed to his human self and got down to his nephew's eye level. He grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look up. He expected shock and fear. But Pierce's eyes were full of surprise and excitement.

"Uncle Alpha! You will not believe what just happened!!"

He was practically jumping up and down. Darren waited patiently and stoically for his nephew to continue.

"A white wolf rescued me! I was exploring this new part of the woods because I knew it was our land. And I was practicing using my claws to hit those trees! And that way I wouldn't get lost neither. Oh! Uncle! Er.. uh.. Alpha! You should see this, I'm getting really good.. look! Look!"

He started waving his hands like a madman.

"Just... one.. second..."

Darren grabbed his wrists.

"Pierce! Focus. A white wolf rescued you?"

He released his wrists. Pierce nodded fervently.

"Yeah! Yeah! It was so cool! I've never seen one before!! I thought they were only in my story books. These guys came up behind me and tried to hurt me. So I yelled for help. But before they could do anything they were on their asses! It was so cool! She used a fast jumping move that I have  to learn when I can shift. And-"

"She?"

"Yeah! Yeah! The white wolf was a girl!! Grace told me that girls can't shift... that it was only a fairytale so that the girls didn't feel completely left out. Was she lying to me? I think-"

"Pierce!" Darren took a breath to calm himself. "Where did she go?"

He looked a little disheartened.

"Oh. I don't know. She got some pretty deep cuts from the other wolves. I didn't notice until she finally slowed down and shifted to human. She looked pretty unsteady though."

Darren stood immediately examining the surrounding ground.

"Grayson get Pierce back to the house and send more wolves. Adam search west of here. I'll search north. Be careful. She saved Pierce, but she is still a rogue."

Adam darted to the west and Grayson went to his son. Pierce climbed on his back and they headed back east to the house.

They searched for hours, but no wolf could find a scent to follow beyond that small hallow. Darren paced in frustration as the sun dipped under the horizon.

*Alpha! We've found something!*

Darren ran south to the wolf that called him. He was standing at the edge of the lake. For some reason, Darren was suddenly filled with excitement.

As he reached the other wolf, he looked down at the water. Glowing like a bright fire was an unconscious woman laying in the water. Her skin shimmered in the moonlight and the white gown she was wearing clung to her every curve.

Darren growled suddenly angry that other wolves were seeing her so exposed. He went to her side and sniffed her face. Then a foul stench burned his nose.

He looked down at her neck, where a mate mark had been placed. It was still fresh and inflamed. He growled loudly. Someone had already claimed her!

He then realized that she had not taken a breath the whole time he had been with her. Panic filled him. He nodged her, but she lay still. Her heart was beating, but faintly.

He transformed into his human state and pulled her into his lap. Not even minding sitting in the cold mud and water. He realized her wounds must be causing her a lot of pain.

"Come on now. You've got to live. I know it seems hard, but you've got to do it. Just give me a breath."

He coaxed her quietly. Her face scrunched and her eyes fluttered at the sound of his voice. She took in a shaky breath. And immediately leaned into his warmth and scent.

Darren's heart skipped a beat. He was suddenly aware of the watching eyes of his pack. He smoothed his face of all emotion and lowered her back to the water. His heart aching.

He walked to the wolf that found her.

"Take her back to the packhouse and see that she receives proper care."

And he forced himself to walk forward, shifting as he went.

Why am I so attached to someone's mate?