Shackled

Chapter Four

She woke to the sounds of screams and the metallic scent of blood. She was out of bed in an instant, with Mason bound tightly within her arms.

"What's happening?" He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, but she could not bring herself to answer. Her adrenaline was at an all-time high, and all she could think about was getting her brother to safety. Careening down the hallway she opened the nearest closest door, full of pack cleaning supplies, it would have to do. She pushed mops and brooms out of the way and shoved Mason into the back corner, hidden amongst the shadows.

"Stay here. Don't come out no matter what you hear, okay?" His eyes were wide and full of fear, he had finally realized what was going on. "Mason, I need an answer, you promise to stay here?" Her voice was firm and unshaking, now was a time for strength, and as long as Mason needed her, that's exactly what she would be.

"I promise." His voice was small, but as she made eye contact with the person she loved most in the world, she knew he had heard her loud and clear.

"I'll be back for you as soon as I can."

She pushed the mops and brooms back into place, doing her best to hide his small body from any prying eyes, then she closed the door and left him bathed in silence. She couldn't hear his breathing from where she stood in the hall, so she knew it was the best she could do. The sounds of fighting could still be heard from outside, and while she wanted to leap out the door and jump into action alongside her pack, she had to make a stop first.

She had never moved so fast then she did as she made her way towards the small armory in the basement. It had been built mostly for her, as most wolves chose to fight in their animal form, but for the few humans amongst them, and of course for her, there were weapons. She slid into her harness like it was a second skin, loading it with every knife and gun she could get her hands on. It was second nature to her, the feeling of a knife in her hand as natural as could be.

As a child she had spent hours in the basement, honing her craft and preparing herself for a moment like this. She may have been almost human, and she may have been shunned, but she was still of Alpha blood, and that made her a high-valued target. With a gun in either hand and more strapped to her back and thighs, she took off, throwing herself off the porch and shooting without hesitation.

The sounds of gunshots took the foreign wolves by surprise as they took in the sight of the girl that stood amidst them in her human form. She looked like easy prey. Soon, they were all over her, but she did not go down easy. When she ran out of bullets, she pulled out her knives, made of pure silver they were multipurpose. Taking down wolves with silvers knives made wounds that would not self-heal, but also helped her keep control of her own wolf as she surrounded herself in bloodshed.

When there was a gap in the wolves, she found herself looking around at those around her. Her heart sank with the sight, there were hardly any of her pack left standing as they fought, outnumbered almost five to one. There was no winning this fight, not without a miracle sent from the moon herself.

She steeled her soul against the thought. She would die today, and that was okay, but she sent a prayer up to the sky, begging the moon to spare Mason, her little brother who was innocent to the bloodshed and ferocity that was so prevalent in the wolf world. Surely the moon would spare her brother, it was only fair after cursing Eden to spend her life as a hermit, surely there was some sort of balance, there had to be.

Teeth digging into her left thigh tore her from her prayers. In a split second her right arm shot down across her body, slamming her knife into the soft vulnerable neck of the black rogue, watching as its jaw let up. She shoved her fingers into the mouth of the now dead wolf, pulling it jaw open and watching as its teeth slid out of her leg. Blood began to poor down her thigh, but she ignored it, now was not the time.

Adrenaline fuelled her, as she heard felt the feral nature within try and break free. Her wolf wanted to come out and play, to slaughter everyone around her, and for a minute she almost considered it. The silver tattoos that splayed down her arms and body seemed to almost quiver and her skin shuddered, threatening to shift. She dug her left hand into the wound in her thigh, the pain pulling her from the brink of shifting, she knew her wolf could win the fight for them, but at what cost?

A deep howl arose across the grass, a cry of despair that she recognized all too well. It was her mother, the sound of a mate mourning the loss of another, which could only mean one thing. Sure enough, her father's large black wolf was splayed across the grass, the gash in his neck so deep that it was a surprised his head was still attached.

The wolf who stood above him was large and grey, with matted fur that was drenched in red. His muzzled was coated in her dad's blood, and his wolf was puffed up and proud, taking slow purposeful steps towards her mother's heartbroken form.

"No!" The cry left her lips before she could stop it, but it was of no use. The grey wolf looked up at her, sending her the closest thing to a wolfish grin as he bit down onto the neck of her unsuspecting mother.

Her knife flew through the air before she could think twice, but the wolf was looking at her, and dodged. The sharpened silver flew through the air and missed her intended target by millimetres, catching only the tip of the wolf's ear, nicking it but otherwise causing no damage. The wolf looked surprised that it even managed to hit him, before sending up a victorious howl into the air.

It seemed like that was all the signal the other wolves needed, as they all the sudden shrunk back and melted into the surrounding woods. The large grey wolf stood above her mother and father even after all the rest of his rogue pack had faded away. Maintaining eye contact with her as her slowly stepped away, showing her that he was not scared of her, but rather took joy in her loss. Sending up one more haunting howl he took off after his pack, leaving Eden speechless.

Those who had survived stood standing motionless, surrounded by the mutilated bodies of their loved ones. There was nothing to say, no words that could remedy the situation at hand. They stood in silence for what felt like hours, though she knew it was a couple minutes at most. The air was thick with despair and the smell of fresh blood. It called to their wolves, but she knew that none of the pack was in the mood for a hunt, not after everything.

A medium sized Theta was the first to turn back, sheading his wolf skin to his more vulnerable human form. The fight was over and there was no need for sharp teeth and claws anymore. The others followed until she was stood surrounded by fifteen naked pack members, people who had fought beside her for the good of the pack. They faced her, looking at her almost expectantly before the Theta moved first once more. Only instead of making his way towards the pack house or to examine the bodies on the grass, he kneeled.

"Alpha." He bowed his head towards the ground, tilting it slightly to expose his neck to her. Her heart sank in her chest. The other fifteen fighters watched him before following suit.

"Alpha." They chorused together, all matching each other's submissive posture.

This was what she had been born for. She had been born to lead her pack to success, in both the good and the bad times. But she had long since abandoned that reality, as it had been stolen from her. Sometimes she had dreamt of what it could have been like to be Alpha, to take her rightful spot at the head of the pack. This was not how she had pictured it; she had not envisioned the bodies of her pack members littering the ground, the corpses providing a grim background to her coronation. Life, however, was not a dream, it was not a romantic story set to John Mayer music, rather it was bloody, it was gruesome, and it was real.

"Rise." Her voice came out crystal clear, no sign of the horror's she had just had to endure, no shaking as tears for her parents threatened to fall. She was an Alpha, she was theAlpha, and that meant she had to toughen up and deal with whatever came next.

"Canvas the bodies, see if anyone is alive or might still be breathing. You," she pointed to a small red headed woman, "help me search the house for survivors. Meet in the dining hall in thirty minutes." She gave no room for argument as she turned with confident steps towards the house. Mason was inside and she needed to get him, she needed to reassure him that everything would be okay. She had sworn never to lie to him, but sometimes promises had to be broken, and now seemed as good a time as any.

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My heart is breaking 

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-C