An Alpha's Claim

Sacrifice

Unable to use her nose to track the scent of whatever wolf had done this, J once more relied on her instincts, this time not bothering to be quiet. She ran as fast and as hard as she could, no time to be surprised that her leg didn't ache, or that the forest zoomed past quicker than she should have been capable of running.

Her lungs burned but she pushed on, letting her senses lead her until she reached the perimeter and reared to a stop as she caught up to the escaping wolves.

For a moment, no one moved. Silence stretched between J and the small group of wolves, some of which she recognised from that day at the Blazer pack. The Rivermoon pack had come for their revenge.

Their eyes studied her in surprise, with a hint of fear, and J was briefly reminded that they thought she had her wolf. Curling a false smile onto her lips she stalked towards them, narrowing her gaze on their leader who held Uma tightly in his arms.

The little she-wolf was silent, but her features were filled with fear. J briefly hoped that Uma had communicated her sense of fear along her packlink to alert Cassidy. J locked eyes with Uma and tried to assure her she'd be fine, knowing she was unlikely to understand a look.

"Come any closer, and I'll tear out her throat," their leader snarled, making J pause mid-step. It wasn't the alpha she'd crowned, but someone else, maybe his Beta or an Enforcer.

"She's a child. Let her go," J pleaded, holding her hands up as the wolf extended his claws allowing them too near to Uma for J's liking.

"I recognise you. You're the one that started this. You're the one that should have died that day. How does it feel to know that you've caused this? By taking the Rootbridge Alphas' daughter, my Alpha will show his pack just how strong he is." The wolf laughed and the others around him chuckled in agreement, though their focus remained wearily on J.

"Please. Let her go. She's innocent." J pleaded again, her heart pounding in her chest as she silently preyed that Cassidy would get here soon.

"Innocent? Your pack has unsettled everything. You killed my alpha. She is as innocent as you are," he spat.

J took a tentative step forward, but stopped when he snarled and tightened his grip on Uma, making the girl cry out in pain. Anger pitted itself in J's stomach and worked its way out, spreading across her skin, heating every inch it touched.

"You're hurting her," J barely growled out, her world sliding to monochrome and then back to colour. Back to monochrome and then once more back to colour. It was the closest J had  felt to her wolf in years, and if she ever needed her wolf, it was now.

She searched, searched deep in her mind and soul for the sense of life. The growling ball of darkness who was her wolf. But still, still there was nothing there. A growl of annoyance slipped past her lips. And all too late, J realised her mistake.

"Holy shit, they were right..." One of the other wolves whispered in surprise, as the others shared glances. When the leader cocked an eyebrow at him, the man continued, "she's lost her wolf. She can't shift. Look at her. She's trying but she can't. I heard it from a friend in the Blazer pack who'd overheard her talking to someone, but...it's actually true. She's human."

The leader spluttered a laugh, "that's impossible Trey. She killed our alpha. She can't be human, she can't be, she-" he paused as he settled his attention back on J. Probably taking in the wounds that hadn't healed. The gash across her thigh where Logan had cut her.

His eyes widened in surprise before his face twisted into a smile. J wanted to back up, wanted to run, but she couldn't – not with Uma still in danger.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, J wiped her sweaty palms on her legs before raising her arms before her once more. "Look. Ok, just look," J licked her lips, trying to buy time, to work out a way out of this – to do anything other than what she knew she had to do. "Look, I killed your alpha, right? And, now you know that I've lost my wolf. So..." J drew in a shaky breath, silently begging Logan to forgive her, "release the kid and I'll come with you. Willingly. I won't fight. Release the kid and you can have me."

The leader's smile deepened and a shudder ran down J's spine. "You're human. You can fight all you like, but you won't out match all of us. What's stopping us from taking both you and the alpha's runt?"

J drew in a deep breath and cricked her neck, feigning a confidence she didn't have. "I mean sure. You probably would beat me...eventually. Don't forget, I may be human, "she narrowed her eyes on each of the wolves in turn, "but I still killed your alpha." The wolves growled in unison. "So go ahead, fight me. But I can guarantee that before you subdue me, the Rootbridge Alpha's will be here. My mate will be here," she snarled that last bit, enjoying the thrill of power that rushed through her. "So, it's up to you. Fight me and die," she held up her right hand and held it in the air, "or leave the kid and I'll go willingly," she offered as she raised her left hand and weighed the options in mid-air. "Your choice."

The wolves snarled, each sharing a look before the leader shrugged and begrudgingly released his hold on Uma, putting the little she-wolf onto the ground. "You better come willingly. We got her once, we can get her again," he instructed J as he glared down at Uma for effect.

Nodding her head, sparing Uma a quick glance, J walked towards them with her hands raised. When she was close enough, arms snapped out and grabbed hold of her, brutally yanking her arms behind her back and frog marching her towards the road where they'd left their car.

As J was roughly shoved into the back of the SUV, she heard a pained howl tear across the sky. The six wolves all shared a panicked look, as they jumped into the car, gunned the engine and tore off down the road.

As the world rushed past the windows, J silently begged Logan to find her, before it was too late.

*

A/N

Oh J.....

Better hope Logan acts quickly!

Thank you so much for reading :D And I'm kinda devastated to say that An Alpha's Claim will be ending within the next week or so...