Alpha Without a Pack...

Chapter 40

 "What's going on is I'm tired of your overprotective sh*t! I put up with you setting a guard to follow me, I could even deal with a few of you sleeping outside my door but spying on me crosses the line, big time! I don't care what program Daniel put on it to try and give me some decency, this stupidity of yours stops, NOW!" I would not back down and other than Colton none of the others seemed eager to jump into the fray. "No, it's for your own safety." Bowen droned out emotionlessly. "The only safety you need to be worried about right now Bowen Shaw is yours. I will no longer tolerate your disrespect to my space, my rights and my freedom." I snarled back as I stared Colton down, he wavered slightly but stubbornly didn't move.

 "I won't call off the guard and you will put up with my measures to ensure your protection, whether you like it or not." Bowen stated, the idiot obviously had a death wish. "Then you leave me no other choice." I chuckled darkly as I dodged past Colton and stood tall as I met Bowen's eyes, invading his personal space. "I pose you a challenge in which I fight for my freedom, if you win we will do things your way and I'll keep my mouth shut about it, but if you lose then we do things my way and you will respect my decisions without being an a** about it!" I snapped as everyone in the room stilled around us even Fletcher froze in place as he stepped into the room. 

"What did she just say?" Fletcher squeaked out nervously but I kept my gaze on the alpha male in challenge. "Fight me alpha boy, or forfeit your loss to me now, your choice." I challenged as I held my head high in defiance. "So be it little wolf, I accept your challenge and conditions." Bowen rumbled out.  "Perfect, now let's take this outside, no reason to break the house while we're at it." I rumbled back. The thrill running through me was eager for the fight ahead even as I knew the dangers, despite my anger at their disrespect. Bowen was a strong and powerful alpha male but I was an alpha too and unlike him I had spent years fighting for my life.

 There could only be one true outcome to this fight and it had been the very thing I'd been trying to avoid since coming here, but if it meant earning his respect with the others, then so be it. I faced off with Bowen in the front yard as the rest of the boys gathered around to watch the fight, and with a quick nod to the alpha boy I let my shift ripple over me. I kept my wolf posture tall and defiant as my hackles raised briefly due to my current anger at my opponent, but I pushed my feelings away to focus on the fight ahead. Bowen was quick to shift as well, and we circled each other wearily before Colton reluctantly called the start of our battle. A battle it would be because I was going to go all out in this fight, the only limit for me was to not fatally wound him for everyone else's sake.

 I was the first to lunge in and rake my teeth across his shoulder before darting out of reach, the taste of his blood had me curling my lips to snarl at him. He seemed startled that I had attacked so quickly and confused that I'd been the first to draw blood, now he seemed to realize I was serious about this and his stance changed. He went from uncertainly circling to facing me for a full on brawl, and then it was his turn to charge me. I dodged him easily and raked my teeth over his already bleeding shoulder, I was going to make him regret his decision to spy on me. 

"Enough of the little play dance BS, fight me, for real!" My link was stern as I pushed my own alpha power out at him to bring his wolf to the surface, it had the desired effect. His dominant wolf rose to my challenge and then the fight came rougher and faster than any normal being could think possible. He rushed in and tried to use his larger size to force me down to the dirt but it was a common tactic used by males and I knew it well enough to avoid being completely pinned as our bodies and teeth clashed repeatedly. I was making him bleed with plenty of painful bites and slashes but then he got a bite of my scruff and clamped down tight, refusing to let go. Instead of making me give in like he thought it would, it only made me annoyed at his attempt to make me submit. 

"Give up little wolf, this isn't a hold you can wiggle out of." He linked firmly. He was right I couldn't wiggle out of his grip due to how tight he was clamped down, but I also knew he wasn't holding anything vital between his teeth. "Never." My snarl reached him a split second before I ripped myself right out of his hold, his teeth cut into my flesh and I left him with a mouthful of fur but it was easy to fight through pain when I'd done it so often before. He seemed startled at my move and I took his moment of surprise to spring my own attack, slamming my full weight into his legs. I knocked him off his feet and went for the throat, and unlike him I clasped my jaws around the vital areas, yanking away would only bring death.

 I bit down hard enough to choke out his breath but not enough to draw blood or break his windpipe entirely. There was complete silence as the boys held their breath, everyone knew I had the upper hand and the fact that Bowen was completely vulnerable was obvious. The moment I felt his realization come over him I released my hold and stared down from where I stood over him. "I win." I linked before stepping off the alpha male and letting him up slowly as he eyed me silently. "I don't want your pack and I don't need or want your territory, but I will fight for my freedom and the rights I deserve, no more spying, understood?" I linked as all the boys nodded. "Understood." Bowen responded slowly and I bobbed my head back before heading back inside to shift and get dressed for dinner, once more.

                                           Bowen

Well now I truly felt like a fool and although the others wouldn't confront me on my decisions even I could see they weren't happy with my choices. I was covered in bloody gashes but they didn't seem to care about that, however their worry was clear over Sidney. I hadn't been expecting her to fight my hold so violently, and when my teeth had ripped through her flesh I instantly froze. My wolf didn't want to fight her and knowing we had caused her harm when we were supposed to be protecting her was far more upsetting than I'd expected. The others trailed off inside, leaving only Colton to stand there shaking his head at me while I shifted back. 

"Well I guess we know how a real power fight would end if she actually chose to challenge your title." Colton raised. "She's a lot stronger than we give her credit for." I huffed reluctantly. "No, she's a lot stronger than YOU give her credit for, the rest of us figured it out when she threw her power at you without backing down." His remark is matter of fact. "She didn't even use her alpha power in the actual fight, she only used it to make my wolf want to fight her for real." The idea that she beat me so easily was annoying. "What did you expect Bo, she's a strong fighter and you made her mad, I told you the fly cam was a bad idea, especially without telling her." Colt sighed as he tossed me some clothes, he wasn't wrong.

 "I just want to keep her safe." I defended as I slipped into the pants. "Making her hate us isn't going to help with that. She's strong and she can fight, if this is going to work at all we have to work together. You saw how easily they followed her command in there, if we don't work with her they'll have to start picking sides. I hate to tell you this Bo, but I really don't like your odds right now." Colton WAS my beta because he was my best friend and told me how things were even if I didn't want to hear it. He was right though, I had seen the way their loyalty was starting to shift even if she didn't. 

The pack was mine but they were starting to look towards her in a similar position as my own, they were protective already and with uncertain feelings being thrown in... I was confused and uncertain too and that only made things worse as they instinctively looked at her as a stronger and more respectful alpha to have, especially after she just kicked my furry a**. "I'll still stand by you but you need to get your sh*t together and figure something out before total chaos ensues." Colton puffed out. "I know." I stated as I sent him a dismissive nod, the sooner my parents contacted me back, the better.