Chapter 40
“Shush, It’s okay now. He’s gone. Really gone,” Aiden said as Charlie flung herself at him.
“Oh my god, Aiden. I thought that was it. I was just lying there waiting for it to be over and then you. I’m so sorry I called you a monster. I’m so sorry.”
“Shush. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you?” He asked. He knew it was a stupid question, after all, she had been through but it just seemed like the right thing to ask.
“Nothing that won’t heal in time. Thank you, for, you know.”
Aiden looked in the direction she had tilted her head and saw Rafael’s bloodsoaked mutilated body lying in a heap on the forest floor.
“I’m sorry you had to see that but there was nothing else that I could do. He would have killed you.”
“I know. I told him too so that Sarah could get away,” Charlie said.
Aiden raised his eyebrow and looked at Sarah, “And you were just going to go along with that plan, were you?”
“Not at all! I was trying to find Ben but then that other wolf was there and then you showed up and, well, here we are. Where is Ben, anyway?” Sarah asked.
Aiden noticed the twinkle in her eye as she mentioned Ben and he couldn’t help wondering if he did the same when he spoke about Charlie. If I do, I’m going to have to do something about it, he thought.
“I don’t know. He was heading to the village to find the Alpha, the last I saw of him.“
“He hasn’t called. He said he would call as soon as he got back to the hall,” Sarah said.
Aiden heard the panic in her voice and felt a sharp dig in his ribs from Charlie’s elbow as she walked to Sarah.
"He will be okay, you know. Remember what you said to me? He knows what he's doing, so don't worry."
Those feelings never go away, his wolf said as Sarah wiped her eyes and nodded. Aiden looked at Charlie, taking in everything from her bruised and swollen face, to her love handled hips and smiled.
"Take Charlie. I’ll go find him," Aiden said.
He didn't wait for an answer. There was no need. He had spent a lifetime hating his parents for abandoning him and had been determined he would never want anyone in his life or let anyone in his heart, but that had all changed.
"I guess I really do want the same as you, after all," he told his wolf as he ran through the trees.
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Ben’s paws pounded at the earth as he ran towards the three wolves that had cornered Thomas, one of the youngest of his pack members. He was a good kid that had never joined in a fight before but pack rules were that once you reached twenty-one, if you were needed, you were there and you did the best you could.
Crashing into the side of the first wolf, Ben leapt into the air and went for the second, creating an opening in the blockade that they had caused. It was the opening that Thomas had needed and, to Ben’s delight, he wasted no time in getting stuck in with the third wolf.
He’s got fire and would make a good hunter, Ben told himself as he pinned the second wolf to the floor.
Driving his teeth into the fleshy neck of the enemy wolf, Ben tore his muzzle away. There was no time for gloating. Howls filled his ears from every direction and he knew that one of them, somewhere, would be the Alpha he was looking for and if there was any chance of ending the reign of terror that Red Dawn had caused, he needed to find him.
Thomas had finished off the third wolf that he had been fighting with and was grappling with the first one. As Ben watched, he knew there was no need to stay. Thomas would be victorious and Ben would have placed a bet on him having learned not to get caught in a corner, again.
Taking off at a run, Ben headed towards the wall that ringed the village. He thought about his first-ever pack fight and how slow and lackadaisical he had been. He had almost gotten himself filled a few times and had, in the end, ended up being cornered by a handful of rival wolves. It had been a quick lesson in defence and being aware of surroundings, and one that he never wanted to be in again. He had been terrified and afterwards, his father had called him all the names he could think of, as well as a few he hadn’t heard before and very harshly, reminded him that one day, he would be Alpha and no Alpha allows himself to get caught in a trap or corner that he can’t handle alone.
“Being an Alpha is a responsibility. You’re a role model to everyone in your pack and if you, as the Alpha, cannot fight your way out of a corner you've allowed yourself to get into, how the fucking hell do you expect your pack to do it?” His father had said and he was right.
Ben squealed in pain as he was flung to the floor. His paws began scrambling against the dirt, trying to get a grip and stop him from tumbling but it was no use. He crashed through the stone wall, sending stone and debris flying into the air with a cloud of dust and dirt. As he lay on the floor, dazed and disorientated, he saw what he was looking for. The Dawn’s Alpha and another three wolves were prowling towards him with their heads down and teeth bared.
So much for having learned to pay attention to your surroundings and not to get cornered, you absolute muppet, Ben scolded to himself as he stood and took up a defensive position against the three wolves.
