Chapter 41

Aiden sniffed the air as he ran. He had been trying to find a familiar scent since leaving Charlie and Sarah but all he could smell were other wolves that he didn’t recognise. How the hell am I supposed to find him, if I can’t smell him? He wondered as he dodged trees and ferns. A crash suddenly sounded from his left and as he changed his direction, he caught the faint scent of humans. Picking up speed as he ran, it wasn’t long before he saw the village beginning to break through the tree line.

Alpha, his wolf said as he ran towards the village wall.

I’m not looking for their bloody Alpha. I’m looking for Ben, Aiden told the wolf, but sure enough, as he closed the gap between him and the wall, he saw a wolf leap into the air, then get knocked to the ground by another wolf and he instantly knew that it was Ben and he was in trouble.

Alpha…

Ignoring his wolf, Aiden ran through the hole in the village wall and headed straight for Ben, who was struggling, although somewhat managing, to keep four Red Dawn wolves at bay. Aiden recognised one of them as the Alpha that he had fought with earlier and he immediately headed straight to Ben and the centre of the fight.

Aiden and Ben both snapped and snarled in warning as the four wolves edged closer. Their eyes were filled with a lust for blood as they snarled in return. It was clear to Aiden that neither side was going to back down and the only way Ben and himself were making it out of the fight was if they killed those wolves or were killed by them.

He saw Ben look at him from the corner of his eye and as Aiden returned the glance, Ben lowered his head and flattened his front paws as though stretching his back before a big leap. Aiden waited until the wolves were about to pounce, then did exactly what Ben had shown him. In unison, they both leapt into the air at the same time as the other wolves, crashing into two of them and knocking them to the floor. Aiden snapped and snarled as he attacked the wolf he had hit, but each time he tried to clamp his teeth into something, the wolf seemed to writhe free.

A second wolf bashed into his ribs, sending him sliding across the floor with a winded yelp, giving the other wolf time to stand and shake himself off. As Aiden stood, he saw Ben wasn’t doing much better. He was lying on the ground with the Alpha snapping at his face.

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Simon ran through the village, looking for Ben. He had picked it up in the forest but had been intercepted by two of the rival wolves and indeed up losing it as he chased them down and doubt. He had never felt the need to get involved in pack dealings of any kind but he had found himself like Aiden, which was unusual. He had learned a long time ago that liking people led to being let down, time and time again. Aiden somehow seemed different though, like a string minded, born leader. His wolf had taken a liking to him, too, which was why he found himself running to protect Charlie, a woman that he had never even met.

He heard howls from all sides of him as he ran through the winding streets of Red Dawn’s territory. Some were howls of pain and others were howls of anger and delight, but he ignored them. Whoever it was wasn’t important, not to him. Aiden and Ben were what mattered.

Rounding a corner, he ploughed straight into Peter, a hunter wolf that he knew from his school days. Peter howled as he went flying into the side of a parked car and Simon continued on his course. He was closer, he could tell because the scent had gotten stronger and as he turned another corner, he found them. Aiden, saliva splattering from his foaming muzzle, was grappling with a hunter wolf that Simon didn’t recognise. It wouldn’t have mattered if he did know him. He had already made the decision to follow Aiden and if that meant killing off a few wolves, so be it.

Simon ran to the wolf and leapt into the air, dragging the wolf with him as he arced over him. Aiden instantly followed and ripped out the throat of the wolf before he could even stand. Spotting another wolf about to tear into Ben, he made a beeline towards him, snapping a warning at Ben as he ran. Ben writhed on the floor, his paws trying to keep the other wolf at bay and as Simon approached, his nose was filled with the metallic smell of blood. Panic began to course through him as he crashed into the side of the wolf, knocking him off Ben. The wolf yelped and tried to run but Simon was fast and as he followed behind him, he jumped onto the wolf’s back end and dug his claws in, dragging him to the ground.

Blood dripping from his stained muzzle, Simon ran to Ben. He was still lying on the ground and Simon saw his fur was matted on one side and blood was oozing from a wound. In wolf form, there was nothing he could do and he couldn’t risk a shift to human form. Not with the fight still in full swing. Turning around, he stood guard over Ben and watched as Aiden and the Alpha tore into each other in the middle of the village square, surrounded by both rival wolves and Ben’s pack.

Nobody dared move as they watched them fight. Simon knew the Dawn wolves wouldn’t get involved unless the Alpha gave the signal. To do so could get them kicked from the pack or forced to become prey for one of their so-called hunts. The Alpha was full of pride and thrived on the fear his pack had caused, but as Simon watched him fight, he knew that pride had made him soft in battle. He was struggling and Simon wasn’t surprised at all when Aiden Knocked him to the ground.

One of the Dawn hunter wolves ran forward, his teeth bared in a ferocious snarl and within seconds, he was shoved back by a bunch of wolves from Ben’s pack. Simon wanted to laugh as the Alpha that had caused so much pain and misery over the years, whimpered on the floor as Aiden stood over him, his teeth snapping at his face before clamping around his throat.

Simon, filled with pride, sat back on his hunches as Aiden spun around, flinging blood across the floor as he tore the Alpha’s throat apart.