Chapter 3

Alaris

***

Being the alpha of one of the largest packs of the country wasn't an easy task. Yet, the burden of it fell on my shoulder when my father deemed me worthy of it. I was only eighteen back then. As soon as he handed over the reins to me on my eighteenth birthday, he decided to go on a very long vacation. He wanted to spend the remaining years of his life with his mate—my stepmother. Though one would have a hard time believing that we didn't share blood if they were to observe us interact. 

My birth mother wasn't my father's moon fated, but they loved each other and the pack needed their luna. It helped that she belonged to the same pack and the two of them grew up together. They were best friends, each other's better half without having the blessings of the moon. The entire pack welcomed her with open arms as she tried her best to fill in the role. And then I was born; the heir to the throne. 

It was all merry, but happiness doesn't always stick around for longer. Some might call it fate while others might say it was our turn to repent for our sin. The sin this pack committed against the Goddess by accepting another as their luna. Whatever it was, we lost my mother in a war all those years back when I was only a child. I didn't remember any details in particular since I was amongst the ones to be protected at any cost. But the pain was still there just as I felt it all those years ago. 

It took us time, years to be precise, to rebuild many of our foundations from the ground up, but the arrival of our Luna helped. Now it was on me to make sure that not only my pack survived through the lashes of time, it prospered against every odd. 

I, Alpha Alaris Miller of the Crimson Crescent Pack, would make sure of it. 

Drawing in a deep breath, I allowed the fresh forest air to fill up my lungs. I was on one of my daily rounds of the pack grounds. The slow walk around the premises gave me a sense of belonging. It was what I was born to do, to lead these people, to be their protector. I knew that it was wrong of me to still doubt myself when the title had always been mine. But I couldn't help it when there were always people around me who would ever so subtly remind me that I wasn't the son of the rightful Luna. 

My thoughts were interrupted by a slight push against the pack's mindlink. I had a habit of raising a mind barrier whenever I was on one of my walks. It was the only time I could enjoy some peace and solitude and I refused to allow anyone to be a part of it. 

'What is it?' 

I allowed the barrier to slip down for a little while. 

'Thank God, Alpha… I have been trying to mindlink you.' 

I frowned as the realization of it being my Beta hit me.

'This better be good, Alex.' 

'I don't know if it's good or bad, Alpha… but…'

Something was clearly wrong on the other end. My beta was not the kind of man who'd hesitate even when taking someone's life if they deserved it. But here he was, clearly hesitating in conveying a simple message. Unless, it was not as simple as I was thinking of it. 

'What the heck is going on?' I pushed my beta to spill it out already. I was not getting a good feeling about whatever it might be. 

'Some of our patrol found a girl writhing in pain on the forest ground. Her cries were what got their attention in the first place. They thought someone from our pack might be in danger.'

'And?' I was still waiting for him to get to the main point. 

'They were wrong about the identity of the girl. She's not from our pack, Alpha.' 

'Then get her to the town's infirmary as fast as you can. Ask someone to bring one of our trucks. It will help in getting there faster.' We as wolves might be faster, but there was no way I was going to allow them to use their inhumane speed among humans. Those creatures were oblivious to so many things that it was better kept that way. 

'But-' 

'What, Alexander?' He was starting to get on my nerves. 

'I think you should see this for yourself.' 

I could feel the barriers around his mind coming down one by one until there was nothing standing between our minds. I pushed forward against it as he allowed me to see through his eyes. It felt as if my ribs were constricting around my lungs as I made sense of the scene which played before my eyes. 

A young girl, who looked as if she was barely old enough to be a high school graduate, was curled up in a fetal position as she lay there on the ground shivering like a fallen leaf. Her mudied face was streaked with tears as she tried her best to keep her eyes open. 

"This can not be happening…." 

I mumbled to myself as I refused to believe the scene unfolding. It was the way that her bones were bent in different directions which had me holding my breath. 

'She's shifting for the first time, Alpha.' 

'No, shit!'

'What should we do?' Alexander's voice brought me back to the present. I had so many questions running through my mind, but all of them could wait. On the other hand, she needed immediate assistance. 

'Where are you?' I questioned him as I began to move in the direction I was assuming them to be. 

'The southeast border. Just behind the community college ground.' His reply was instantaneous.

'Stay put and nobody touches her. You are only going to add to her pain.' Giving him instructions, I picked up my speed as I made my way to their location. 

It only took me a couple of minutes using my wolf speed to arrive at sight and just like the first time I saw her through Alex's eyes, my lungs constricted in my chest. She looked so helpless. 

"How long has it been?" I questioned my men, stepping closer to her body. 

"We contacted Beta Alexander as soon as we found her." One of them replied. He must have been the one who contacted Alex. 

"I wasn't too far away from here since I was making a round of the patrol units." This time it was Alex who spoke up. "I reached out to you as soon as I arrived here. Can you help her, Alpha?" He sounded exactly how I was feeling, helpless, watching the little one trembling. 

"I don't know." I shook my head as I went down on my knees next to her body. Reaching forward, I grabbed her face in between my palms to turn it towards me. My eyes met her golden ones and I knew straight away that it was her wolf pushing forward. 

"You are hurting her." I leaned down and mumbled under my breath, keeping hold of her eyes as she looked everywhere but at me. I allowed some of my aura to seep into my words, wanting her wolf to listen to each and every word which left my lips. At the same time, I didn't want her to get wary of me. I wasn't someone she was familiar with and her wolf must know it. 

"I need you to listen to me." I paused, allowing her to make sense of my words. "You need to take the back seat for now. She's not ready yet. You will only hurt her." This got her attention pretty fast as her eyes finally focused on me, her painfully groans dying down to slow, ragged breaths. Allowing my own wolf to push forward, I continued. 

"You are late and she needs time. You are going to need a full moon for your first shift and she needs to understand who she is before that." 

It was obvious to me that the girl had no idea about having a wolf or the fact that she was one of the supernatural beings. 

"I can help you shift forcefully with my alpha command but she might not make it. We don't want her getting hurt now, do we?" It wasn't in my wolf's nature to be this gentle, but he was trying his best. The last thing he would want was a life he failed to protect on his lands. I watched her shaking her head ever so slowly as another painful groan left her trembling lips. 

"Go back to sleep, I will protect you both. You have my word." Her wolf needed to slip back into her subconscious mind or else the pain was not going to subside unless she finished her shift. 

I could see the doubt swirling in her gleaming irises which had my wof pushing forward more than I would have liked. 

"I will protect her as one of my own. You have an alpha's word." This time, I was only a watcher as my wolf had taken over completely. I watched through his eyes how she nodded subtly before the golden of her eyes dimmer to a dull honey brown. I wasn't allowed to enjoy the depth of them as her eyes rolled back and her body went lip against my hold. 

Cradling her head, I picked up her body in my arms, rising to my feet. 

"We got you, little one. We got you."