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He didn’t like his sister to be around the un-mated males, and being three years younger than me, I truly believed she was as much my sister as she was his. I took a deep breath, waiting for him to say something else on the subject. When he didn’t, I figured he wanted me to ask him why, so I indulged. “Why would she be talking about me?”
“Because you’re her new ‘knight in shining armor’ now. You did make that group of boys buy her another doll, right?”
“That happened two months ago,” I told him with a shrug, giving him a wary look. My heart wouldn’t slow down, which made me start to sweat.
He laughed and then turned away from me. Being only a few months older than me, Sawyer would shift and turn eighteen before I left. I would be at his pack to witness it since I would still be living with them for a few more months after his birthday. But he had been on a whole other level in his training. I was almost to his level, but Beta Adam still thought I needed just a little bit more.
The first time we’d sparred, he’d kicked my ass. But I had continued to get back up, which gave me the impression that was what made Beta Adam push me harder than what he had been. Bloodied and bruised for weeks after those first two days that week, we’d fought until we couldn’t fight any longer. I had kept pushing myself to keep getting up even when my body wanted to submit. By the time we both couldn’t persuade our bodies to stay upright, half the wolves that were in training had been surrounding us—encouraging us to continue.
Now we were running again for the third time, and I longed for today to turn into Saturday. Beta Adam continued to alter our course each day so it didn’t become routine. This morning we were running in the woods where the patrols kept watch. Every once in a while, I saw massive paw print on the trail where the patrols ran to keep the pack safe.
I imagined the freedom when I got to shift into my wolf. The wind in my fur, my paws pounding on the ground, taking me ever forward. Being one with my wolf was one of my dreams that seemed to be more of a reality than a mate. My future mate’s rejection didn’t faze me; this would be my reality, especially in my pack.
A howl sounded through the air, which made me and Sawyer stop. Beta Adam quickly turned to us and listened; another cry came forth, and he came up to us. Holding onto our shoulders as he started mind linking someone. I became nervous; the patrols normally never howled like that unless something entered the territory uninvited. The beta’s grip tightened, and I clenched my jaw to keep from letting a yelp out. Seconds went by as he conversed with whoever, then he finally cut the link and his features turned hard.
“Ready yourselves. I realize you can’t shift yet, but I need your help. You both are strong enough in human form now. I’m going to shift. I’ll be right back,” he told us, running into the trees to shift.
We stood on the trail back-to-back, keeping our eyes and ears open, slowing our breathing and our heart rates to keep the enemy from hearing us. Beta Adam made it back to us just as I picked up another wolf’s scent. I hadn’t met everyone in the pack yet, but I sensed the tension in Sawyer’s aura. This meant only one thing—this wolf was no friend. I continued to swivel my head, waiting for them to come out of the underbrush.
The beta’s reddish wolf gazed at us and snorted; his eyes went past us as a muddy brown wolf jumped out, snarling and brandishing his teeth. Beta Adam sprang forward and over us, attacking the rogue wolf, while two other wolves appeared and came at Sawyer and me. We pushed off each other and went to the massive beasts before us.
I grabbed the wolf in front of me by his jaws, keeping him at bay as his saliva ran down my arms. He thrashed his teeth, trying to sink them into my flesh. The muscles in my arms flexed and strained as I tried to keep him from tearing into me.
Push harder, Nolen!
The voice in my head startled me, but I used my legs and pushed the wolf up. Grabbing the lower and upper part of his jaws, I pulled with all my strength, tearing his lower jaw from his face. I felt like something else gave me strength; my whole body buzzed with whatever this power was. Turning, Sawyer was putting up a good fight with a grey wolf, and I lunged into the fray with him, grabbing hold of the wolf’s neck as Sawyer grabbed his jaw, snapping it. The wolf fell, lifeless, at his feet. I jumped from his body and observed my surroundings, looking for the Beta.
Picking up on the snarling and tearing of skin nearby, I looked to Sawyer, and we both nodded. We ran to the fighting and witnessed Beta Adam combating three wolves, each trying to secure their hold on him to take him down. I slowed my pace at the sight of the four giant wolves fighting each other. The Beta was taller than the others that kept attacking and then retreating. Each wolf had gouges in their skin where blood spilled onto the ground from the wounded flesh.
Faster, Nolen! the voice in my head commanded. I pushed faster, Sawyer accelerating along with me, and we tackled two of the wolves so that Beta Adam could take on the one in front of him. I grappled with the wolf before me, his claws splitting the skin on my chest apart. Blood spilled from the deep canyons, and I went forward, the sensation of a power I had never known before flowing through me.
The wolf withdrew back a little to put distance between us, and I then caught sight of my opportunity when he lunged. As I went under him, the power that rushed through me focused on my right hand as I jerked his vocal cords from his throat. Blood poured out as the wolf fell on top of me; the power that had helped me quickly evaporating, and I didn’t possess the strength to push his dead weight off.
The heavy body of the full-grown wolf pressed me into the ground, his blood continuing to spray out. I lay there, thankful I was already down, since the darkness started enveloping me. Beneath the heat of the wolf and smell of blood covering me, I heard people and wolves running toward me.
“Nolen!”
You are one determined pup; we are destined for wonderful things, Nolen.
The feeling of my body being pulled inside out stressed me. I kept trying to move my arms and legs, but they didn’t budge. I tried to open my eyes but could not free them. I started to panic, my breathing and heartrate increasing. I thought I was thrashing around but could also tell that my body didn’t respond to my brain’s request.
Rest, young Alpha. Your body needs to heal. The voice startled me as this mysterious being took up a small portion of my mind. Power surged back into me as this voice spoke.
Who are you? I asked, not entirely understanding why I was talking to something in my head. I was pretty sure if I started to answer myself, I should be committed to a crazy house, but being a werewolf, there was probably no place for that.
You should know, Nolen. Living your whole life among your pack, the voice huffed. Maybe it snorted; I couldn’t really tell. But it seemed annoyed with me.
Yes, but I shouldn’t be able to hear you till we shift. Why now? I realized that this other voice was my wolf, but there was no way we would be able to communicate until my eighteenth birthday, when we would shift.
Because that’s what happens sometimes, it informed me, huffing again in my mind. I tried to make out what its fur was like, but try as I might, I couldn’t see it.
What do you mean happens sometimes? And why did it happen now? What’s your name? I probed. Interested in finding out more than I already knew.
My name is Sarge. Most of the time, it happens when you need me sooner. Like when those wolves attacked, if I hadn’t helped, you wouldn’t be here to complete your destiny, he answered.
Destiny. My destiny wouldn’t be fulfilled if I had died. But what about Archer’s future? His life that he would never get to live, what happened to his mate?
Pleasure to meet you, but why is my life more important than others? Why did my brother have to die? Since you are here now, does that mean we will shift sooner? What about Sawyer? Did he obtain his wolf too? I wanted to know why, and since we were one and the same, he wouldn’t be able to hide that answer from me, right?
