4. Little One

...Darius POV...

I was terrified. I didn't want to show it, and I knew I couldn't think it either, as Wynter would only pick up on it. I needed her safe. But with my father in the picture, I knew that wasn't an option. My dad wasn't nicknamed stone cold for a reason. He was a merciless killer, especially to rogues. I never understood his hatred towards rogues. I know that everyone hates them, but not to the extent my dad does.

So the moment my dad came into the picture, I knew there was only one way out of this. He wanted to kill Wynter. However, I would never let him do that to her. I still don't understand my infatuation with her, but I knew I needed to protect her with my life. I know it sounds extreme, but I would be willing to die for her. All it took was one look into her beautiful eyes for me to under her spell.

I wanted to protect her, which is why I had placed myself in front of her. The last thing I ever expected was for her to jump in front of me. I didn't know what she was thinking. She could never take on my father. 

'Stay back.' She said to me in our mind link. I don't know what else to call it, so I'm calling it what it is. It's a mind link. The fact that she can so openly communicate with me without having to open her mouth is on an entirely other level. She continues to surprise me, and I've only known her for a mere ten minutes.

The fact that we can mind link proves my point further. She must be my mate. The idea of being mated to her is truly amazing. She would make a wonderful mate and even more incredible Luna. The fact alone that she chose to protect me when the odds were not in her favour further proves how wonderful a Luna she would make.

I look down into her beautiful green eyes when I notice she's staring back at me curiously. As if waiting for an answer. I seemed to have lost track in time and am not sure what the question was.

"Is he your father?" She asks.

I take a deep breath but nod my head.

"Yes. I am Darius Stone, the son of Alpha Xander Stone, to next alpha of the Blood Moon pack." I state.

I watch as her eyes raise in shock. She begins to back away, clearly terrified of us both. However, I don't let her leave. Instead, I pull her flush against me, her face buried in my stomach. I kneel to her level and let her head rest in the corner of my neck. I wrap my hand along her waist and place my other hand on the back of her head.

"Shh... Little one. It's ok. I won't let anyone hurt you." I coo to her.

I feel her relax in my embrace, putting an even bigger smile on my face. I would do anything for this girl, even if it meant standing up against my own father. I would make sure no harm ever came to her.

"Now, isn't this just adorable?" My father says, clapping his hands, ruining the moment.

I stand up and roll my eyes at him.

"That's enough, father." I state firmly.

"You're too weak to notice it. I should've known better than to allow you to join the patrols at such a young age. But this girl here..." He says, pointing distastefully at Wynter.

"...is nothing more than a basic witch that has managed to cast her spell over you." He says.

Doubt creeps into my mind. Is what he's saying true? Is she just a witch that's trying to control me? 

One look into her eyes tells me otherwise. I can see her eyes laced with innocence. Proving to me that my feelings are my own and not controlled.

"Stand aside, son." My father states.

"Stand aside, and let me end this rogue for spelling you." He states once more.

I stand firm in my position, not letting him get to her.

"I won't ask you again. STAND ASIDE." My father states, using his alpha command on me once more. 

This time, I have no choice to obey. I managed to earlier, but even that was a struggle. I'm not an alpha yet, so going against my father's command is virtually impossible. I managed to do it earlier. However, my father seemed to have used much more power in this recent attempt. Forcing me to submit.

'I'm sorry Little One.' I said in my mind, knowing that she would hear me.

My father only smiled at me. Knowing that he was stronger than I was. I felt completely helpless. I wanted to protect her so bad, but I was too weak to do anything. I was frozen like a statue, unable to move. Any attempts to move forward were like hitting a wall. I tried to get to her, but my attempts were futile.

I looked up at my father then and saw a wicked gleam in his eyes. I wanted to know why he looked like that. I started to wonder what was going through his mind. 

Upon realization, I looked down at my little one. Her face had suddenly morphed from her angel-like face to a look of pure disdain. Her eyes were laser-focused on my father. I could tell she could read his thoughts, making me wonder what he was thinking for her to look at him with so much hate.

"Leave us." My father commanded me.

I tried to resist, but once again, I was met with that wall. I had unwillingly submitted to my father. I kept my focus on Wynter as I walked away from them. I was terrified of what would happen once my father got to her.

I saw my father begin to approach her. Wynter stayed where she was unmoving.

'Run!' I shouted to her in my mind. I may not be able to come to her aid, but she could try to save herself.

I stared at her, unnerved by the fact that she hadn't even moved a muscle.

'RUN!' I shouted once again at her, using as much alpha command as I could get. Until I have my wolf, my attempt at an alpha command is minor at best. But I knew I had no other option.

My dad's eyes suddenly flashed black, showing that his wolf had taken over. This only meant one thing that he was about to kill Wynter in cold blood.

"NO!" I screamed at him, attempting to stop him from killing her.

My shout seemed to have awakened something from inside her. As I saw her eyes flash as well. 'But that's impossible.' I thought to myself. 

'Her eyes could only change colours if she had her wolf, which she wouldn't have for another eight years. So how did she manage to do that?' I wondered.

I look to my dad to see if he noticed it as well. However, his gaze seemed glued to her as if she was his prey. He continued moving towards her in a threatening manner.

"NO! STOP!" I yelled. However, as I suspected, it did not affect my father.

My father's hand changed into the claw of his wolf. In a matter of seconds, she would be dead on the ground. And yet, neither of them flinched.

"WYNTER! RUN!!!!" I screamed as if my life depended on it.

I couldn't watch what happened next. I waited to hear the sound of flesh being ripped and the sickening sound of a body dropping dead to the ground. And yet, it never came. Instead was a surprised gasp from my father.

I opened my eyes to see a black wolf standing where Wynter was. The wolf locked its focus on my father. The fact that a wolf had appeared out of nowhere wasn't even the most surprising thing. This wolf was nearly as tall as me. Standing nearly 5 feet off the ground. The look the wolf was sending my father was that of death.

It began to growl, showing my father that it wasn't to be messed with. I watched as my dad took a few steps back. The sudden appearance of the wolf had caught him off guard. I looked around frantically for Wynter.

'What happened to her? Where is she? Did the wolf get her?' I thought to myself.

'I'm here.' I heard Wynter's calm voice say in my head.

Which is when I noticed the eyes on the wolf. They were the beautiful sea green of Wynter's eyes. 'It couldn't be? Could it?' I thought to myself when I couldn't see Wynter nearby.

'But that's impossible! She's only eight years old. How did she manage to get her wolf already?' I thought, however, this time, no answer came.

I looked to my father, who seemed to be studying her. His look of hatred soon replaced with a look of curiosity. He seemed just as surprised as I was that Wynter had managed to turn herself into the wolf in front of us. His curiosity quickly replaced that with a look of hatred. As if something was telling him to focus on the mission and to forget about what just happened.

A moment later, my father also shifted into his wolf. He managed to tower over hers, but by only a few inches. I watched in horror as my dad's wolf began to approach her slowly.

I stood frozen in place. The previous alpha command went out the window, now that my father's focus was no longer on me. 

I was about to approach Wynter when suddenly, my father pounced towards her. In less than a second, she would be dead. My father was a trained fighter. He knew the weak spots of all of his victims. 

Before I could react, my father advanced. I wanted to close my eyes because I couldn't see what happened next. However, to my amazement, I watched as my father was blasted away. I looked to Wynter for an explanation but didn't get any. It was as if she had put up a force field, and when my dad hit it, he was flown away from her.

"What the.." I said, running over to Wynter.

A scuffle-like noise took my attention away from Wynter and back onto my father. I had almost forgotten that my father had been sent flying several feet into the air. My father seemed dazed and yet unfazed. The upside was that he no longer looked like he wanted her dead.

My father had changed back from his wolf and into his human form. He put on his shorts, as he had taken them off preshift, and walked closer to us.

"SHIFT!" My father commanded Wynter. 

Just like before, it looked as though his command did nothing to her. Which made me even more curious. She was only eight years old and managed to not only defy one of the strongest alphas but also hold her own in a fight. It made me curious as to what else she could do.

Wynter instead looked at me. I took my shirt off and held it out to her.

"It's ok little one. He won't hurt you." I said to her.

Wynter took another glance back at my father before grabbing the shirt from my outstretched hand. Wynter's wolf nodded at me before walking behind a nearby tree. Wynter came out a few moments later wearing nothing but my shirt.

I found myself growing possessive over her. Seeing her in my shirt was a boost to my ego. It was as if she was screaming that she was mine. The thought alone made me smile. I watched as she blushed at my thought.