The terrified screams of Emilia were the first things that roused me from my unconsciousness. Even as I slowly blinked, the world still spinning around me, pain instantly flared to life.
Gritting my teeth, I slowly reacted to Emilia pushing against my shoulder, urging me upright. Nauseous from the pain and winded from the fall, my eyes struggled to find the wolves that were still descending from the cliff.
However, I could easily tell from the shape and swelling from several fingers and my right wrist that they were broken. And when I rolled my shoulders to push myself upright, I could already tell that my right shoulder had been dislocated as well.
But I couldn't focus on that; Emilia was crying hysterically, clinging on my less wounded side as I slowly came to, slowly started to inspect her for injuries.
I was glad that I had taken the brunt of the fall, that Emilia only had a few bumps and bruises but nothing severe.
Yet.
Attempting to stand was a struggle, even if I told myself I needed to get on my feet, no matter how much pain I was in. The wolves were fast approaching, hopping from cliff to cliff and closing the distance between us.
But the pain that flooded my system each time I tried was overwhelming, a pained cry slipping past my gritted teeth before I managed to get myself at least on my knees.
However, the sight of the wolves appearing across the clearing made me react faster than I thought possible. Within seconds, my clothes were torn to shreds, wolf kicking off whatever fragments that lingered on my body.
I stood protectively in front of Emilia, holding my injured side towards her on instinct. A wild animal would never reveal its weakness willingly, especially not in a hostile situation.
Even though I was still wounded and still in a massive amount of pain, I gritted my teeth and protected the child.
And by doing so, I forced the approaching wolves to a halt and, unintentionally so, gave away my status.
Father had mentioned before that any Alpha, a true born Alpha, would always strive for the wellbeing of the pack. They would rather lay down their very lives than to let harm come to those under their protection.
Wounded as I was, I still held my ground, stood protectively in front of Emilia even though I was outnumbered. Something a rogue would never do.
Leaping off of the cliffside and disregarding my own safety, simply to make sure that no harm would come to Emilia, had awoken the true nature of my Alpha genes.
And now those wolves were halted, because they could smell the change in my scent.
They could see in the way I stood in front of Emilia, head held high, tail almost curling stiffly over my back as my raised hackles only added in height...
I was a newly awakened Alpha.
"Back off. NOW!" I snarled, snapping my jaws in clear warning at the now hesitant wolves. A few whined and halted on the spot, while that one black wolf, their Alpha-to-be, turned tails and darted in the woods, presumably to change.
I followed him with my gaze as he slowly emerged back out of the woods with a pair of shorts covering his nudity. And each time I laid eyes on a male, my wolf wondered when we would find our mate.
My parents have spoken of mates, the value of the mating process, how our lives were linked together once the bond was made. But they had failed to inform me when one would normally find their mate.
The male crossed his arms, huffing slightly. "Go back to shift, don't try anything."
I snorted and if I could've rolled my eyes in wolf form, I would've. The male was oblivious to the reason of my irritation until I snorted and pawed at the shreds that were my clothes.
And then his cheeks flushed a warm pink before he cleared his throat and averted his eyes. "Ah, right." He scratched over the back of his neck, eying the pair of us before sighing.
"Why do you request a meeting with our Alpha? Rogues are not wanted here, nor do we let them trespass without repercussions." The strength of his voice wavered slightly as he eyed Emilia, the hesitation in his eyes made hope bloom in my chest.
"Emilia, I need you to say exactly what I say. I cannot make a mind link with wolves outside of the pack and I'm not going to shift back without anything to cover myself." Alphas could force links between wolves but that was usually seen as a very invasive action, only permitted in emergency situations.
She whimpered but nodded, fingers tangling in the fur of my hackles before swallowing. "I... I'll speak for Lyra..."
I locked eyes with the glaring human, eyes darkening underneath his black, cropped hair. He motioned for us to go ahead, so I stared at him to make it clear that I was speaking to him.
"The child isn't a rogue and neither am I. I'm an Outcast who was entrusted with the safety of this child by her mother, Sarah Greenwood, who lived within the Moonrise pack."
His eyes narrowed, observing Emilia more closely to look for any resemblance. "You mean this is the niece of Erica Greenwood?"
I nodded, growling in pain as I sat down hesitantly, avoiding to put pressure upon my wounded leg. He nodded to himself, "I see the resemblance. But how can we be certain you didn't kidnap the girl and are just trying to save your hide?"
He sneered, shaking his head, "We've had a lot of issues with rogues in the past, and they wouldn't shy away from using tactics like this to make us drop our guard." A few of the wolves snarled in agreement, hackles still raised as they eyed both of us.
I nodded at Emilia to convey my message as I pushed back on my paws, already anticipating the pack's likely response.
"She can make a link to share the memory with you, if that makes it more believable."
The male huffed, eyes rolling as crossed his arms. "A link between us, so she can attempt to overtake my consciousness? I think not." He shook his head with a snort, fingers curling until he stood with clenched fists, fighting back his wolf.
"I'm starting to think that you truly kidnapped this child and fed her make-belief stories to aid you. You rogues are nothing but vicious animals-"
He stilled, eyes widening as my instincts had acted before anyone could react. He should've realized my awakened Alpha, should've realized that I could easily force the link.
Usually this was heavily frowned upon, as mindlinks were formed through trust and respect, not a forceful intrusion of one mind into the other.
But this was a case of life and death. I didn't care for the slight sparks of pain that flooded both our minds, nor did I waste any time by gently stirring the conversation to the correct topic.
Instead, my wolf flooded his brain with memories, causing the male to freeze and bare his teeth at the sudden onslaught of images and information.
He staggered back on his feet, shaky and pale from the overload while his pack members snarled, furs bristling as they crouched lower, preparing to attack.
"What did you do, Lyra?" Emilia whispered hesitantly as the man motioned for the rest of the pack to calm down, glaring as he rubbed at his temples with a groan.
"I showed him. Everything." I replied, taking a step closer to the shivering child. The wounds on my back and shoulder protested sharply as I moved, but they were healing ever so slowly.
The cuts and bruises would be the first to fade but the fractures would take far longer to heal. Not to mention that my shoulder wouldn't push back in its socket on its own.
I glanced back up when I heard footsteps approaching, crouching lower in front of Emilia in response. That same male hesitated, his former scowl now apologetic as he held his hand out.
His pack however, were not apologetic to say the least. They were snarling and snapping their jaws, allowing no mistakes in how they felt about the current situation.
If my Alpha bloodline hadn't awakened, I knew what would've happened. Emilia would be safe with her family. But I?
I'd be ripped to shreds.
The only thing that stopped them from acting on those urges, was the male, now standing in the middle of the group with a dull expression.
It was easily recognizable as someone conversing over the mind link, especially when all the wolves behind him stopped their aggressive display in unison.
"The Alpha would like to speak to both of you about this...situation." He stated slowly, taking another, much less aggressive step forwards.
"I'm Ryan, future Alpha-to-be of our pack. While the Beta's are busy, I can also be considered as second-in-command, so I'll accompany you to the pack house."
He looked at Emilia before relaxing, a first, genuine smile slipping on his lips. "The pack house isn't far away so it would be easier for the both of you if you shifted. Your wounds will heal better if you aren't...walking... on them..."
He silenced himself with a blush creeping on his face, realizing why I was staring at him as if the man was dense.
After all, I had made it a point earlier that my last clothes were shredded. What was it with pack wolves and demanding women to change without offering anything to cover themselves up?
"Uh, I err.." He scratched the back of his neck, clearing his throat. "Just, follow us, I guess. We'll take the kid if that's easier, okay, guess not." He quickly added as I growled lowly.
Emilia giggled, snickering at the ever growing blush on Ryan's face before aiming her attention towards me when I nudged against her side.
Clenching my teeth, I slowly laid down, motioning with my head for the girl to get on. While she was still careful of my injuries, she was still a child and her excitement turned painful when she jolted my dislocated shoulder.
"Oh! Sorry Lyra, I didn't mean to..." I silenced her with a huff, slowly pushing on my paws and giving a hesitant hop forwards.
It didn't feel good, not one bit, but I wasn't about to hand Emilia over to these pack wolves, who had their minds set on killing me not a few moments earlier.
My wolf agreed to that, puffing up her fur when the remainder of the group circled around, flanking and boxing us in.
When they approached too close for her liking, she snarled, allowing the powers of our Alpha bloodlines to push through. It instantly forced the pack wolves to give us a wider berth, making Ryan sigh and shake his head.
"Just don't try anything, will you? I don't want to explain to my father that we had to fight you anyways. Besides, what is a single girl going to do against all of us?"
Oh, he did not....
My wolf bristled even further, more than pissed off at his archaic insinuation that females are automatically weaker than males.
Sure, they had me outnumbered, but that didn't mean I was weak.
I bared my teeth at him in disgust, making him shrug at my reaction before he disappeared between the trees to shift. As soon as he was ready, the group slowly stepped forwards, giving me several looks, some of them almost mockingly so.
Expecting me to fall behind because of my injuries.
It irked my wolf to the point where she growled lowly, claws digging into the soil before we lunged forwards. It was no where near full speed but definitely not the much slower walk that these wolves were expecting.
They were stunned for a moment, gaping as I snorted before they had to sprint to catch up on my three-legged gait.
I had no idea how far or how long we ran, though I sensed the atmosphere changing, growing less tense as I gained some respect in these wolves' eyes.
We ran in complete silence until a massive house came into view, along with a cluster of other, smaller houses. Ryan ran up to the door, hopping on two legs to shove it open before he stepped back, motioning me forwards with his head.
I slowly stepped in with Emilia still on my back, clutching on and from the looks of it, desperately trying not to fall asleep.
Before I had a chance to look around in this packhouse or move any further, three of the wolves swarmed to my left and right. Cornering me and guiding me physically down a set of stairs, most likely where the holding cells were.
Even now, these pack wolves didn't want to take the risk. Ryan came after us in his human shape, gesturing to one of the cells.
I gave him a foul glare before slowly stepping in, hearing the door close as soon as my tail slipped inside. Emilia slipped off my back, stumbling before flopping on the bed provided to us.
My ears easily picked up the sound of deep, even breathing above. A telltale sign that many of the pack were deeply asleep and unaware of their newest visitor.
"Father is currently out on patrol himself, though he assured he'd hurry over as soon as possible. As things stand, it's better that you remain here until we are certain of your intentions." Ryan paused for a moment before inclining his head.
"I'll go get some clothes so you can change back, if you feel like it."
Mentally rolling my eyes, I hopped over towards Emilia, who was already deeply asleep on the bed. Instead of jostling her by jumping on, I nudged the limp hand hanging out back on the bed before I curled up on the floor in front of it.
After todays events and with my current injuries, I desperately needed sleep. Even though I was more than wary of my current predicament, I couldn't ignore my physical needs and slowly succumbed to sleep.