The distinct scent of pregnancy grew stronger as I raced toward the female. Wet leaves and clumpy dirt flew up from under my paws as I gained on her. I caught sight of her brown fur through the trees, her huge belly slowing her down enough for me to pounce to her left and force her to switch directions back to the border. Instead of changing directions, she simply cowered down, curling her belly up under her, and whined. I huffed, nodding to the border less than a mile away, but she whined again and her ears flattened against her head.
Pounding footsteps met my ears. He was only half a mile away, and the pregnant female still wasn't budging. Her teeth bared when I stepped too close, so I lowered myself to the ground and flattened my own ears, giving out a soft whine. I nodded to the border again and yipped and, finally understanding, she stood with me. I nudged her flank with my nose, urging her on as the footsteps neared. She picked up her pace, but shrank back into me when another wolf appeared in front of her tall and snarling.
His growls ceased when I rounded the female and he raised from his offensive stance. I approached him meekly, not meeting his eyes until my form covered the wolf behind me. He tilted his head but brushed his body against mine as he walked past us, back to the inner lands. I whined and stepped back, causing the female behind me to stumble a few steps closer to the border. His head snapped back and a low growl emitted from his jaws. He took a threatening step forward and my whine grew louder. I pawed at the female's obviously pregnant belly, her body shivering visibly, but he took another step forward and let out a bark.
I held back my own growl and glanced to the female's face. Her flattened ears betrayed her emotions, but I beckoned her to follow me anyway. My steps weighed me down with the certainty of what was about to happen as I walked back to the house, pregnant female in tow and Beta Castor sticking uncomfortably close. I growled at his nuzzles and intruding nose but it took all of my will power to not snap at him. If it had been a lower ranking male, his muzzle would already be slick with blood.
We walked back the way I originally chased the female out and then eventually crossed into land that her scent didn't mark. I'd been able to chase her out before she'd gotten too far in, but apparently it was still too far in to fly under Castor's radar. If it weren't for his proclivity to follow orders blindly, he might actually make a good mate. He huffed when I didn't return his affections but winked a large eye at me as if I was just playing hard to get.
When we neared the Alpha's house, Castor let out a loud howl so that by the time we got there, Alpha Leyton and Beta Andrew were outside waiting on the front porch. Upon seeing the three of us, Beta Andrew strolled back inside the house only to appear with two large t-shirts and a pair of shorts. He tossed them to the bottom of the porch stairs and Castor and I were quick to shift and don them. The pregnant female, on the other hand, shook where she stood, her tail between her legs.
"Shift," Alpha Leyton said, his body turned to the trespassing female.
I moved to her, my hand resting between her shoulder blades. "Alpha, she's pregnant."
"I know what she is, Tara."
I let out a breath and knelt down to the female. "It's okay," I murmured in her ear. "Shifting only hurts pups if it's too quick. Just take it slow."
She whined, but her fur began receding into skin and her human form soon crumpled to the ground as best as her large belly would allow. I shoved the large t-shirt over the woman's head as Castor began to speak.
"I found them near the border. It seems she almost escaped Tara's reach. Maybe you should increase her training if a fully pregnant female is able to outrun her, eh, Beta Andrew?"
His eyes narrowed at the snub, but father was never one to bristle quickly.
"I don't know why you bothered to bring her back, Beta. You know the punishment for trespassing on my land."
Castor hesitated and my breathing hitched while the female behind us burst into tears.
"I thought, Alpha," said Castor, "that we could induce her labor since she is far enough along, allow the pup to be birthed here—."
"So we could raise an unloyal pup?" Alpha Leyton scoffed. "She should've been disposed of immediately. And, since Tara is the one who caught her, she should do the honors."
My head snapped up to meet his eyes, my jaw dropping slightly. "Alpha?"
"In this Pack, we raise females to be equally strong as males, do we not, Tara?"
"Yes, Alpha."
My blurry vision betrayed my solid voice and I turned to the female who was beginning her transition back to her wolf. She was on all fours, her claws gripping the dirt as her human face looked up at me.
"Today, Tara!"
I plunged my hand through her chest and ripped out her heart. I caught her as she began to fall back and let the organ drop into the grass. Her eyes held mine until they were looking past me and I kneeled beside her, blood on my claws as I stared.
"Maybe your daughter does need a lesson, Beta Andrew. We do not hand out merciful deaths for trespassing."
The creak of the front door signaled Leyton's return inside. I swallowed back my tears as footsteps approached. Father knelt down on the opposite side of the female and his hands lifted her shirt over her enlarged belly. I watched in horror as the protrusions of hands or feet appeared from her inside. My father's hands gently covered her belly to shield the movements until they ceased.
"Go shower, Tara."
I stood, my eyes as unable to see as the pregnant female, and walked to the house directly to the right of the Alpha's. Castor was waiting for me on the porch and his eyes had lost their playful glint.
"I've seen you run faster from me to know you weren't trying to dispose of the female; you were trying to lead her to the border so she could escape. I covered for you this time, but it won't happen again."
"She was pregnant, Castor. Even you know that killing her for simply trespassing was wrong."
He hesitated, and in that moment, I pushed past him and into the house. I remembered nothing from the shower except watching dark pink water rush between my toes. My father found me in the middle of the bedroom floor after his own shower, though I could still smell the death of the female and her pup and the dirt he'd buried them with. He held me for a while and we sat in silence of the horror of what I had done.
I lost feeling in my feet first. The numbness spread up my toes and to my eyes which became deserts. I was only vaguely aware that I fell into my father.
Soft grass replaced the hard wooden floor under my legs. My vision and hearing faded and the woman's sobs filled my ears. Warm blood coated my fingers. My hands covered her belly, her baby's last kicks nudged my fingers from inside her womb.
Dad's scent invaded my nose and then he was there in front of me, his neck directly exposed to my nose, pulling me from the vision my own guilt produced. He'd lowered me to the floor and, hanging on to his scent, I slowly felt the floor on my back.
I groaned as I sat up and Dad helped pull me into a sitting position again. His hazel eyes searched me.
"Malra is coming over to keep you company. I'm ordered to track for more trespassers."
I hung my head when he diverted his eyes.
He stood and moved to the door. "You're getting sloppy if Castor caught onto you escorting the female out."
"The rain washed away most of her scent... I thought I could get her out in time before anyone noticed—."
"Tara." He stalked back across the room and lowered his voice. "If you are to continue helping me save wolves, you need to be more cautious. We have only a month until the summit. We can endure until then, right? I will not be able to come up with a good enough excuse if we get caught, understand?"
"Yes, Dad."
"One month, Tara. Then Leyton will pay for what he's made you do, what he's made all of us do." He kissed me on the head. "Don't wait up for me. I love you."
Malra waltzed in a few minutes after Dad left, her bouncy curls contrasting her solemn mood. She said nothing, but engulfed me in a hug.
"I saw your Dad cleaning up," she said after a while.
I pulled away and flopped down on my bed with a sigh. "Alpha Leyton is out of control."
Malra laid next to me and curled her knees up to her chest. "He used to be so different. Remember when he caught us with the giant solstice stash of candy we stole from all the older wolves when they were on their run?"
I chuckled. "He let us keep nearly half of it. Full moon, Malra, does losing a mate really make you go that crazy?"
"I wouldn't know, but your dad didn't." She looked at me, her brown eyes cautious.
"Dad had me," I said, turning to stare up at the ceiling.
"And the Alpha had the pack. You're not important enough to be the sole reason your dad didn't go crazy." Malra's solemn face morphed into a grin.
"I think you underestimate me." I smirked and turned on my side. "But speaking of mates, how did the practice challenge go?"
Malra covered her face with her hands and drug them down her face dramatically. "Awful. AJ makes a new meaning out of brawn not brains."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow.
"He expended too much energy in the first few fights. By the time the third came around he didn't stand a chance. Not to even mention, his lack of strategy was insane. He just expected to brute force his way through every fight, which is why he didn't even last until the third round," grumbled Malra.
"And you know what they say about wolves who can't last until the third round."
Malra swung a pillow at my face so quick it probably would've bruised if it hit. "He is so not courting me."
I tucked the missile of a pillow under my head. "If he hadn't of shown his colors now, it would've been later. He was bound to mess up. You shouldn't settle for someone just because they're all you know. There are other wolves out in the forest."
She rolled her eyes at my bad consolation but smiled knowingly. "Summit is coming up. You never know, we might not have to settle or deal with Leyton's insanity anymore if any worthy challengers are interested."
A flash of blood covered hands ripping into the woman's chest. I flinched.
I sought out Malra's scent and clung to it.
Dad came in quietly hours later, after Malra had begun softly snoring, but he didn't come upstairs to his room. I slipped out of bed and found him at the dining table downstairs, a bottle of whiskey on the table. His eyes were closed but he took a long pull.
"One month," I said, leaning against the doorframe.
We had already endured eight insufferably. What was one more?
His eyes opened, exposing the fire in his soul. "One month."
**********
A/N
What do we think of Tara? Leyton? Andrew? Castor? Malra? The prologue introduces most of the main characters, but there are a few important ones still coming up😉 First chapter will be our main characters arriving at the summit and lots of drama ensuing! I'll post it next Monday.
Notice how Tara deals with her PTSD/grief--through numbness and flashbacks. As a werewolf, it's the scent of others that helps pull her out of these dark episodes. This is your friendly reminder that healing and comfort happen in the midst of community and friendships with people you love and trust. Like wolves, people were not meant to be alone!
Until next time❤️