Damian POV
Okay, I didn’t really mean that. Shutting my phone and returning it to my pocket, my mind is reeling. She fucking left, she actually left me. I do want her as my beta, but I wouldn’t actually rape her. I know I marked Holly too soon. She is so whinny and annoying. No wonder I never really paid any attention to her. Turning, I started walking back to the pack house and Holly was trailing behind me crying and fuming. I know what I said hurt her, but damn, why can’t she understand this isn’t easy for me. I can feel her anger and I am assuming it is towards me, but I know she is jealous of Nina. I do expect her to listen and return in a month. That should be long enough for her to accept this reality and I will tell her I didn’t mean it in a few days. I don’t think she will answer my calls right now anyway. I am hurting too and I said things I didn’t mean, but Nina is a very forgiving person, so I know she will accept my apology and take her rightful place as my beta. I will forever love her, even if I need to reject Holly. I know my parents will be upset about my decision, but they love Nina and know she would be a great Luna. I am sure she will want an upgrade from beta to Luna eventually. I will keep working on my plan. Shutting my office door, I lock it so Holly can’t interrupt my plan to get Nina to be my Luna.
Nina POV
Well, it is close to a 13-hour trip to the Smoky Mountains. We decided to make it one day. I will drive half of the trip and Zach will drive the other half. It is a nice spring day in May and I am thoroughly enjoying this weather. Driving at a Sunday’s cruise speed with windows down and letting my hair blow in the wind. Zach is in the passenger seat with a map trying to figure out the best way to go. I have found that Zach is easy to talk to. He is a good person who may have been babied a bit too much by his parents but has a dark side he can bring out if needed. He aims to please and will make a great mate to someone.
I am way too sarcastic and abrasive for him. We decided to stay on the main roads to avoid entering a pack unaware and creating issues for ourselves. Last thing we need is to get killed by trespassing on claimed land, but it is law that if you stay on main highways or interstate, it is not trespassing and no harm can come to anyone. That is assuming you’re not causing any trouble. We decided to stop at Shawnee National Forest and let our wolves run a little. Raven has been patient but I know she is wanting to get out and spread-out her legs. Zach researched pack territories before we left and only half of Shawnee National Forest is claimed as the Redwood Pack. They are deep in the forest tourists and regular travelers don’t stumble across them but close enough that the pack does protect the whole forest from rogues.
Pulling into a parking spot, I turned the engine off and got out. It felt so good to stretch our legs. Zach was being dramatic and slid out of the car and acted like his legs were jelly. “Oh fuck! I can’t even feel my legs! I have to pee so badly, hurry up, we need to go!” Zach whined.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, I am coming. I had to lock the car!”
Zach just rolled his eyes as we made our way to the forest and walked about a mile in before we decided this was as good as any to shift and let go. We each chose a tree and took our clothes off and shifted. Although it is common to be naked in front of people, we still choose to be discrete.
“This is so much better!” Raven said as she stretched her legs and widened each paw and clawed the dirt. “All this fresh air and new pine smells amazing! I could really get used to this.”
“You know, I could too. Everything is so beautiful here.” I agreed. Coming out from behind the tree I saw Zach’s wolf, Max, waiting for us. Max is not quite as large as me, but he is impressive. He is dark grey with patches of brown on his legs. We each grabbed our clothes in our mouths and ran. Every now and then, Max would stop me and tell me we were getting too close to the boarders and we would change directions. I never got a bad feeling so I didn’t think too much about it. Raven smelled and heard a waterfall ahead, so we decided to stop and get a drink. Laying down, we were just basking in the sun and enjoying some peace and quiet when we heard a twig snap.
Raven’s ears perked right up and so did Max. They were instantly alert and ready to attack. “What was that?” I asked Zach via mind-link. We hadn’t really mind-linked this whole time just to enjoy being free.
“I am not sure….” Zach said, uncertain.
I got the scent of foul body odor and swamp and I heard that smell, rogues. “Rogues, 3 of them, to the right”, I replied to Zach. He didn’t even question how I knew and, honestly, I didn’t know exactly either, but I did.
At that same time, we saw 3 smaller rouges emerge from the brush, heads down and teeth out, telling us they were not here to talk. Instantly, I crouched down and answered them with a deep growl and let my domance expand to them. I am of beta blood and I can make them submit, but if they are too far gone, they won’t obey directly.
As they lunged forward, I jumped and caught the first one by the throat and clamped down. Tasting blood, I whipped my head and ripped the wolf's throat clean out. Without missing a beat, I turned to the second one that was circling Max and grabbed him by the hind leg and threw him against the tree. Hearing a snap, I watched as the wolf slumped to the ground. It’s next was snapped. I saw Max finishing off the third. I had been training from a much younger age, so I knew I was stronger and a better fighter than Zach, but I was unsure how his wolf was, plus I wanted to see Raven in action and she did not disappoint.
“What do we have here?” A deep voice rang out.
Snapping my head to the sound, I saw 3 males and female standing there with an amused and annoyed look on their faces at the same time.
“Go ahead and shift, I will be here when you are done. I am Alpha Alex of the Redwood pack and I mean you no harm.”
I glanced over at Max and he gave me a nod. Walking backwards towards our clothes, Max stood guard as I shifted and got dressed and I did the same for him. Once we were changed, we walked up the Alpha.
“I am sorry, Alpha Alex; I did not realize we were on pack ground and I promise you we mean no harm. We were letting our wolves run and somehow got the attention of these rogues.” I finished strongly.
“Hmm, do you know who these rogues are?” Alpha Alex asked me.
“No sir, this is the first time we have seen them,” I answered.
“I didn’t catch your name, miss.”
“My name is Nina and this here is Zach. We are from the Red Wood pack in Kansas” I said strongly.
“I see, well I would like to have you for dinner then, as a thank you for taking care of these rouges here for us. It is the at least we can do”, Alpha Alex said. I saw his warriors look between each other as we spoke. I didn’t get a bad feeling per say but not a good feeling either. “These are my warriors Kevin, Fred and Sally and this is my beta Al.” Alpha Alex finished
“With all due respect, Alpha, we are okay to head on out, no need to put you guys out” I said, a little unsure of this situation. I knew I was taking a risk. Generally, you do not say no to an Alpha, but for some reason Alpha auras never had an effect on me and Alpha Alex was not an exception.
“Hmm, well, unfortunately that was not a request. I assure you, you are not in any trouble nor will any harm come to you, but I will assist on feeding you guys.” Alpha Alex finished with a little smirk.
Nodding towards Fred, Kevin and Sally, they went to pick up the dead rouges and started carrying them back to the pack with us. We fell in step behind Alpha Alex. Beta Al was to the right of us and the warriors to the left. No one spoke and Zach followed my lead. He knew if I felt anything negative, I would have said so. He trusts me blindly.
After walking for about 30 minutes, we arrived at a large house. I didn’t realize we passed the pack’s boarders; I saw no guards or any gates. As reading my thoughts, Alpha Alex said, “Since we are close to the public, we do not have a gate to advertise our territory, so we do not attract attention and we patrol is minimal guards with more electronic security system but we do have wolves around.”
“I see” is all I responded with. I still have yet to decide what to think of this. As we approached the house, I was in awe of it. It is the size of a mansion. At least 5 stories high with a wooden cabin feel to it. It fit perfectly in with the forest that surrounded it. The front porch was wrapped around to the other side with dark wood beams holding up the roof. The French front doors opened and a beautiful girl walked out with a baby on her hip. She stood at 5’4 with flaming red hair and dark brown eyes. She was pale skinned but the baby was a mini version of Alpha Alex. He was easily 6’5" with sandy blond shoulder-length hair with blue eyes and pale skin.
“This is my mate and Luna, Laura, and our 5-month-old baby boy Axel” Alpha Alex said warmly as he wrapped his arm around her and gave her a small kiss on the forehead and ruffled Axel’s hair that swept below his ears.
“Nice to meet you, Luna Laura, my name is Nina and this is Zach” I said nicely.
"Nice to meet you too” Luna Laura said back with a questioning look towards Alpha Alex.
“These two managed to kill the 3 bandits” Alpha Alex said.
“Oh my” Luna Laura whispered, her eyes got large and she grabbed her heart.
“The what?” I asked. I turned and looked at Zach. He was standing right behind me with a confused look on his face. He was in protector mode but was not understanding what was being said.
“Come on inside and we will sit and eat supper and I will tell you all about them. I am wondering why they came after you in the first place”, Alpha Alex said. I got a very uneasy feeling like I was not going to like what I was about to hear.