Julie's POV
I looked outside the window, and a few tears fell. But for the first time, it was tears of happiness. I cleaned them quickly before Beta Terry could see them. "I can't believe my ears, A. We are mated to an Alpha. Uncle Michael won't be able to hurt us anymore or request to have us brought back."
Smiling, Aphrodite said. "Darling. We are mated to the most powerful Alpha. He would kill Michael before he even thought of hurting us. I can't wait to meet his wolf."
After a while, Aphrodite lay down and whimpered in my mind. "What is it, A?" We were travelling for a while, and I knew it was tiring her. "I'm not feeling well, Jules. The silver in our blood is very high, still. I will go away for a while until I can return to heal your back and legs. This long journey isn't helping. Sorry, love, I need to rest. You will be in much pain now that I will not be taking the most of it from you."
It was comprehensible. Aphrodite had been taking all the pain herself for over four days and was exhausted. Wolves take longer to heal with that amount of silver in their veins. But I took even longer as when I got my wolf, uncle Michael had already diminished me to an Omega, and the lack of nutrition made us weaker than Omegas in power.
The minute I felt Aphrodite going numb inside my mind, I took a deep breath. I was always afraid when she had to do this to spare herself. I feared she would not return. And then it hit me, the unbearable pain. I took deep breaths and moved my body to the edge of the seat, so my back would not rub on it and crunch the cuts. But I still had gashes on the back of my thighs and bottoms. The same ones that I was sitting on, and I did not know how long I would be in this position.
So many thoughts came to my mind now that I was alone without Aphrodite. I thought about asking Beta Terry to stop the car to take a little bit of my pain away. I thought about asking to lie on my stomach on the backseat.
But in the end, I did nothing. I held still, in pain, as I had done for six years. But this time, I was afraid my mate would think I was a weakling. He saw me so fast, maybe he did not notice my condition, and If I complained something to his Beta, he would not think twice before sending me back to uncle Michael.
An Alpha from a powerful pack like his would never want a weak mate beside him. Please, Moon Goddess, do not let it happen. Once he marks me, I will be a strong and kind Luna for my new pack. After I start eating regularly, I can show him I can lead the pack by his side. My prayers were interrupted by Beta Terry. "When was the last time you ate?"
I opened my eyes and moved my head in his direction. "I meant we left pretty early, and I don't know about you, but I am starving. There is a stop right in the corner. We could have food if you don't mind us stopping?"
I looked outside, knowing there was no reason to lie. Beta Terry would sense it when he was a higher ranking wolf than I. "I haven't eaten in three weeks. And it would be lovely if we stopped." Beta Terry took a deep breath but did not pass any comments, and I was glad about it. The car stopped outside a diner, and I was thankful that for the next two minutes, I would not be sitting.
I had been to diners and restaurants full of humans with my family before, but that seemed a lifetime ago. One thing I was sure I would be ordering was a steak. We needed nutrition, and we needed it fast. The smell of food was intoxicating when Beta Terry opened the door. I could not sense or smell if everybody inside the diner were humans. With Aphrodite weak and numb in my mind, I was practically human and had lost all my senses. I sat on the soft booth and winced. It hurt like hell.
"Is everything all right?" I smiled at Beta Terry and nodded. When my food arrived, I could not be happier. I took a bite of my steak and moaned in happiness from the feeling in my mouth. The last time I had one was at dinner with my family. Beta Terry smiled. "I am glad you liked it. The food here is decent, but nothing compared to the food provided by the pack. Your mate will provide you with an even better kill."
I blushed when he talked about my mate's skills. I wanted to know everything about him. "Do we have much to go? I can't wait to see everything." Beta Terry had a strange expression, but he masked that very quickly. "We will be there before nightfall."
We had been travelling since sunrise. It was only lunchtime, and I was exhausted from the pain. I only hoped the food would help Aphrodite recover faster.
****
Max's POV
It was after breakfast, and my mind was going a million miles per hour when I heard a knock on the door. Ger bowed his head, giving me an envelope. "Alpha. That is the list of the people we are taking, and Beta Terry left at sunrise. Everything is packed and ready to go."
I was glad I had Ger, my head warrior, with me as Terry had left. My thoughts were fuzzy, and this goddammit wolf trying to break the wall in my mind was not helping. "Perfect. You and I will be travelling back in wolf form. It will be much faster. Select two men to come with us. I will go negotiate with Alpha Michael."
We might get there at the same time as them if we run fast. I knew I could trust Terry to get that girl into the pack without raising any bells, but still, I had the urge to make sure things were quiet.
The run will be good for me to put my thoughts in place. I got to Michael's office and wanted to rip his head off for being responsible for that girl's dreadful living conditions. He was smiling at me like he had won the lottery. He had the three she-wolves to bargain for and thought he had me. But he did not know I was better at this game than him.
"Alpha Michael. Here is the list of people we are taking." He was so useless that he did not even open the envelope to check the names, and I was glad. I did not want to discuss the girl that I had already taken. "Thank you. Won't your Beta join us?"
"My Beta already left early this morning to do some business." He was such an effective Alpha that he was unaware of it. Everything was out of his control. "Now I heard there is resistance with three of your warriors that I am taking. That is what I want to discuss."
The motherfucker smiled. "I will allow the ten warriors I am leaving with you to train yours while they are here helping with the rogue problem. If you think I will allow those three highly skilled men that have found their mates to join your pack, think again because it won't happen." Michael made a displeased face, his smile long gone.
"If you aren't happy with my generosity and will say they are from the same rank and the she-wolves are not entitled to follow their mates, I'll be glad to bring your unhappiness to the council, and we can discuss with them to settle the matter, as we both know the she-wolves that were forced into work wish to leave."
Michael got white. Of course, he did not want the council's eyes over his pack, risking them finding out how he was running it to the ground and was a lazy Alpha. He shook his head. "That won't be necessary." I smirked at him. "I didn't think so."
He should be glad I will allow my men to improve his pack's skills. I mindlinked Ger to get everybody into the transportation, including the three she-wolves. I was sure my men would travel happier now that they did not have to become permanent members of this hell because they wanted to be with their mates.
We put our clothes inside the car outside the pack house and shifted. We would be going straight to the pack. There was no need to carry clothes in our mouths. It would only slow us down.
We started our journey, and I left my walls up. I knew that was not nice to Ares. He loves to travel. But I had to be alone. He would have to stay put a little longer as he would be whining the whole time. Saying his mate should be travelling by his side as he was the only one fit to keep her safe.
I ran fast, and the boys were having trouble keeping up. It was like I had something forcing me forward that did not let me slow down. We crossed the borders, and I felt my pack's happiness that their Alpha was back, and they felt safer. All the welcoming wishes were coming through the mindlink. It was fulfilling.
I loved war as much as Ares did; yes, I was a killer. Killing to protect the pack was in our blood. Their safety and happiness were everything to me. I would never let anything hurt them. Then I could not accept that little wolf as my mate and Luna.
She was weak, fragile. She would only be a vulnerability to the pack, a hindrance. Someone that would slow us down and put the pack at risk. My pack deserves better than that and I felt obliged to give it to them. My mother was an excellent Luna till my father retired, and I had to do even better than him.
It was dark, and I could hear all the chatter in the dining hall. The boys shifted, looking exhausted from the run, but I went straight to the pack house and climbed the stairs to my wing in wolf form. The whole sixth floor was the Alpha's wing. The bedrooms were very spacious and had a kitchen and family room.
I blocked my senses. I did not want to smell her, not yet. I shifted back as soon as I got to my room and had a quick shower. When I was about to mindlink Terry to ask about the little wolf, he opened my double doors, panting. "You got to come with me. Something is wrong."
I followed him to another side of the wing. At least he had obeyed me and put her far from me. We stopped outside my old room, the one I used before I became an Alpha. I looked at him, and he knew exactly what I was thinking. Why did he put her there with so many rooms available?
When Terry pushed the door, the smell of death hit me so hard. "Max, she didn't smell like that when I left her." She looked small, curling like a ball on my old bed. The she-wolf was pale and frail. "I already mindlinked the doctor, Max. He will be here soon."
The feeling that she was sick was overwhelming, and a feral roar came from my mouth, shaking the room. Terry and doctor Paul, who had just arrived in the room, fell to their knees, baring their necks to me. Ares was fighting to take control, and my eyes were shining. "I need to examine the she-wolf, Alpha." I heard doctor Paul's voice and pushed Ares away.
I looked at him with my green eyes and nodded. He strolled toward the bed and moved her to lie on her stomach. With scissors, he cut the back of her long sleeve top and jeans, revealing the cause of the rotting smell.
Julie had never felt so happy to be mated to an Alpha, but what had happened to her? Leave your comments below.