"Hey! What the hell are you doing!"
Elena Michael's had arrived for the annual howling a few hours ago, and immediately began tracking the delicious scent wafting on the breeze, her mate was here, she could feel it.
Her search had led her to a small track in the woodland area on the outskirts of the Shadow moon territory, she had rounded the corner just in time to see five teenage were boys jump an unsuspecting omega wolf, hitting the back of his head with a large rock, as they laughed at him crashing to the ground unconscious.
They began to kick his still form and Elena knew if she didn't do something now, the poor young man may not survive against his cowardly attackers.
"Let him go!" She bellowed, the sheer rage tapping into her magic as an elemental wolf, causing the wind to pick the boys up and suspend them in midair, bound tightly by her wind fist.
"Hey, you can't do this outsider, do you even know who we are?" The bigger wolf blustered, trying in vain to free his limbs.
Elena grinned "The real question here boy is DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"
With a small flick of her wrist, the boys were thrown and as they touched the ground, they swiftly shifted and ran off towards the packhouse, no doubt to tell their Alpha an elemental wolf had crossed into pack lands.
Hmph, Neanderthals, little did they know, the Alpha was her uncle, and he had invited her specifically to this event in the hopes that this year she would find her fated mate.
Elena had been shut away for so long in the jungle, training exclusively with the small but powerful elemental pack there as she learned to control and use her abilities, it felt good to finally be amongst other wolves, sharing food and gossip, chatting like normal society.
At nineteen Elena was the youngest Alpha born in her line, her wolf was a proud creature named Sephora, her coat a straight slate grey with light grey eyes, colors she shared with her human side, as Elena's hair was a shimmery silver with the same liquid eyes.
She was a lean figure, perfect for tracking, ensuring she could run for days without tiring, her gift of harnessing wind useful for keeping her cool no matter the heat.
In the eyes of her own pack, she was a prize, unfortunately, none of the unmated males there gave her the tingles, and she yearned for someone to call her own.
A groan bought her out of her introspection and she remembered the poor Omega lying several feet away, probably needing pack attention.
'Dang girl,' she chided herself, 'get your head in the game and your brain outta the clouds, Alpha borns don't waste time with daydreams.'
As she drew closer to the downed wolf, his scent wafted towards her, scrambling her senses, waterfalls, and mossy earth...'MATE MATE MATE!!' Sephora screamed in her head, challenging Elena for control of her body 'MUST HELP MATE!!' This Omega was her mate? Elena's heart thundered in her chest as she ran the short distance to the downed male, upon closer inspection, her wolf seemed confused, "He is no Omega Elena" Her wolf confirmed "His blood smells like a strong Gamma, why would a Gamma be demoted to a lowly Omega?''
"Someone has tried to break mate!" Sephora growled, pushing forward, taking full control as she leaned towards her mate, there were injuries everywhere, some old, some new, his lean body was covered in them, and it made her blood boil.
Slowly one eye opened, and Sephora could see the male's wolf peering back at her, through pain hazed chocolate-colored eyes, "Mate?" he rumbled, before losing his battle to unconsciousness again.
Elena used her wolf's momentary distress to force her wolf back and regain control, 'Dammit Sephora, you have to stop doing that! Who knows what sort of trouble you could've gotten us into if we'd wolfed out without permission in another pack? What good are we to our mate if our arse is thrown in the bloody dungeon?' Sephora grumbled and retreated to the recesses of Elena's mind in reluctant submission, she never apologized and would often sulk for a few days if Elena got cross with her, but at this point, Elena couldn't give a rats butt if she sulked or not, a bit of humility would do her arrogant wolf some good.
As for her mate, and the telltale smell of Gamma blood, that was a puzzle she would like to solve, but first, he needed medical attention.
She opened her mind link to call on the warrior accompanying her on her journey through the howling, one of her father's men.
"Cade, are you busy?"
"Just grabbing a bite to eat with the Beta's son Elena, why?"
"I've just found my mate, he isn't in good shape and requires medical attention, I could lift him but I don't know where the pack doctor is located, can you find someone to help please?"
"Sure thing, the Beta's son has offered his assistance, where are you?"
"There is a small bush trail on the outskirts of their territory, about a kilometer north of the foothills, we are easy to spot, but Cade...you need to hurry, he's not doing too good and for some reason, his wolf isn't healing him...."
"Okay Elena, congratulations on finding him before the Howling, I'm guessing that's why you took off so quickly when we arrived? Mikhail and I will shift to get to you quickly, hang on we'll be there soon."
Cade cut the link and Elena sat down beside her mate. He was the most gorgeous male she had ever seen.
She wanted to run her hands over his body, he was HERS and those ignorant little punks tried to hurt her beloved, for that they would face her wrath, but first, she had to make sure he was safe.
He was tall and slimly built, with a wiry body and lightly tanned skin, his face was all angles and Elena could tell that that with a little feeding up, his face would fill out and become panty dropping sexy, Goddess help any other female that looked at him though, as an Alpha blood, Elena and her wolf wouldn't tolerate that.
He had messy blonde hair, that looked as though he spent a lot of time in the sun, and Elena found herself wondering, "What's your story mate?" as she waited for Cade and the Beta's son.
Shadow felt his breathing begin to slow as he looked up at his mate. He tried to manage a smile, but the pain was too real, and all he could do was grimace as it arced through his torn-up body. Bella was telling him to hold on, that Valenar was reasoning with the threat, but he knew that there wasn't enough time for him, so using the last of his strength, he lifted his hand and gently placed it against her lips. "I waited a lifetime for you, my Bella," he struggled to get out the words, knowing that this was the last time he would feel her touch, "I will search through a thousand lifetimes to find you mate. You have my heart, you have my soul and no matter where you go after I'm gone, know that in your heart I'll always be here." Bella's lips trembled, and her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head at him, "You promised me forever, Shadow, please don't leave me!" As Shadow closed his eyes against the pain, he was vaguely aware of Bella's screams,
Down in the cellar, the children were quiet. Some trembled while others bristled, eager to get out amidst the fray and earn their place as pack warriors. When the ground above started trembling, and the hatch heaved as though the earth itself was trying to break in, that's when hysteria hit. Onyx struggled to hold back the retired warriors and mothers whose children were valiantly fighting to keep them safe. The tension grew higher as Onyx barked for them all to calm down. Reason was rapidly going out the window, and Lucifer awakened, shining wrathfully through Onyx's eyes as his leadership was challenged. Then, out of the darkness, a clear voice rose, weaving its way through the pack bunched up in close quarters, and Onyx looked gratefully over at his nephew.Tarakona sang of times gone by, the history of the Howling warriors, and his parents' courtship. He spread calm throughout the cellar as they were all transported back to the time of Shadow and Isabella, the magic of th
Like the plague, Hael's anger washed through Howling, killing dozens in its wake. Pyro's magic was depleting itself quickly under the onslaught of his friend's fury, and sensing his master's struggle, Barghest's howl signaled his hellhound's arrival in Howling. Unfortunately, the boy had only lasted seconds as Hael tore his intestines out, half-crazed by the thoughts of his mate being with another man. For the first time in their lifelong friendship, Pyro doubted his ability to reign Hael in."Marie is going to make me eat my own balls," He thought grimly as his legs gave way, blood dripping from his ears as Pyro faced his death. He was lucky in the sense that while he would die in this space, as an overlord in Hade's realm, Pyro would end up back where he belonged anyway, and Marie would be waiting to tear him a new one, as she did every time he went on a jaunt with Hael. Barghest came at a run, bowling through half a dozen wolves as Pyro's magic finally deserted him. His fa
Ratchet left Sal's with a full belly and a grin on his face. Maeve was like the ray of sunshine in his life that made everything okay, and whatever it was that she was dealing with, he was sure she would slay it like she did everything else in her life.Lost in his thoughts, Ian reached his bike in no time, grabbing his helmet and pulling his bandana up to keep the bugs out of his teeth. He didn't see the freight train until it hit him full force in his side. Like a spring flinging loose from a trampoline, he sailed through the air landing heavily on his side. "What the fuck?!" He roared, reaching for his handpiece. When Ratchet found who had rammed him, his mouth dropped open, and the gun fell from his boneless fingers. It was the two giants he caught sniffing around Maeve's shop earlier on. Only now, the one called Hael looked like some avenging angel. His eyes glowed with fury, and his muscles quivered with the urge to smash someone's head in. That someone being Ian.
"I had to stay and run the pack!" Lucien barked defensively, crossing his arms and glaring at the pint-sized woman in front of him. Bella's eyes widened, and he swore he could see steam pouring from her ears. "I call bullshit!" She retorted, getting right in his face; her eyes crackled, and the fury held barely in check started to leak out, giving the Luna a frightening look."You haven't been running the pack," Bella brutally pointed out, "You've been curled up in your bed like a teenage girl listening to sad songs and eating ice cream. Why do you think I'm back so early?"Lucien couldn't find an answer for that. But it didn't matter because Bella wasn't finished, "You have thirty minutes to get dressed and pack a bag, I've already organized a replacement bike for you, and my strongest tracker picked up traces of her scent on the Eastern borders. Got and get your woman Lucien, before someone else claims her." She tossed him the keys to his bike and looked at her watch
The ground felt strange beneath his feet. Grass tickled his toes as he wandered along, breathing deeply of the mountainous air. Beside him strode his friend; he was aware of the appreciative stares from females as they passed by and wondered if maybe it was unusual to see humans in Howling, but then again, they weren't really human-now were they?"Of all the places Hael? I'm allowed one free pass from Hell each millennium, and you bring me to Hicksville?" Pyro Diego glanced at his friend, who didn't bother to answer, and hoped for the sixth time that venturing into a wolf pack disguised as humans was a wise choice. Shaetan only knows what Marie will think when he returns home in a few weeks, and he rather liked his balls."She's here, man, I can sense her," Hael muttered as he began to look in the shop windows, and as the demi-gods came to the one on the corner, Hael stopped and took a deep breath, a guttural growl sounding deep in his chest."This is it."