The Alpha's Mutt

MYSTI

A few weeks had passed since my meeting with Alpha Farris, but I hadn’t heard a thing from him.

I wasn’t sure how he felt, but my treatment in the pack had only gotten worse.

Hateful rumors had started to spread. I was called a liar. I was called desperate. I’d been spit on more than a few times.

Yesterday, someone had pushed me down on the side of the path. The wolves nearby had laughed, and as I’d struggled to right myself, they’d kicked mud in my face.

I felt terrible, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t bother Alessa with this. And there wasn’t anyone else I could turn to who would care.

I sat huddled on my old worn-out mattress, hugging my knees against my chest while tears streamed down my face.

I had never felt more alone. Even when my father passed, Alessa had been there. But lately she’d been too busy with her new role as beta female.

She had responsibilities that were more important than our friendship now, and I couldn’t resent her for that. I knew my place. I just wished—

Suddenly, screams rang out, ripping through the silence with a deafening roar, causing me to jump from my bed in a panic.

The faint stench of blood wafted in through my open window, and I could hear the sounds of snarling in the distance along with the howls from the warriors warning the pack.

I knew what this meant. The pack was under attack, either from a rival pack or perhaps a group of rogues. All the warriors were expected to run and join the fight along with the higher-ranking members.

Members of the pack who needed protection, such as non-warrior females, omegas, the elderly, and the children, were expected to run to the pack house to be guarded by the luna. Since we had no luna, the responsibility would fall to the beta female, meaning Alessa.

I would be left to fend for myself.

Alessa wouldn’t be coming to offer me her protection this time, as she’d always done in the past. Now, she would have to be responsible for the rest of the pack. And I wasn’t allowed to find sanctuary within the pack house.

I’d be all alone with only the walls of my cabin to keep me protected.

I rushed around to all the windows, slamming them shut, praying that I would survive the night. I forced the wooden shutters closed over them to keep any nearby attackers from seeing inside.

I ran to the door and made certain to lock it tight, then shoved the table in front of it.

I curled myself into a ball in the corner of the room farthest from the front door. Staring into the darkness, I tuned into what I could hear of the battle, trying to gauge its distance from my cabin and listening for the sounds of my pack members.

I prayed for any noise that would tell me the danger had passed.

Instead, my wolf senses were screaming that the danger was closer than I’d thought.

A putrid stench wafted in, and I was certain a rogue was nearby. My only solace lay in the fact that it was a full moon, and I’d be able to shift if I had to.

The foul odor grew stronger and began to overwhelm my senses. I could hardly focus on anything else as my fear zeroed in on my potential attacker.

The distinct sound of claws started scraping against the boards on the outside of my cabin. I scrunched in on myself, trying to be as small as possible.

I prayed to the Goddess to spare my life. As miserable as things may have been, I didn’t wish to die.

There was a slam against my door, followed by another.

I used my wolf vision to help me see through the darkness, and I watched as the door began to buckle and splinter ever so slightly.

Horrifying scenarios began to play through my mind.

I could tell from the scent that the rogue was a male, and I knew he could smell me too. If he caught me, he could kill me on the spot. But I was an unmated female, so he might choose to take me as his slave instead… or any ghastly thing in between.

Until he got inside, he couldn’t see me, and that might be enough to increase my chance of escape. But it was unlikely that I’d get out of this in one piece.

The door crashed open, busting away from its hinges just as I thought it was about to split in half. The table provided little extra resistance as it was swept aside.

A mangy rogue with filthy, matted fur stood in my doorway. There was a wild look in his eye as his head swiveled back and forth, nose sniffing at the air.

It was obvious that this creature was more beast than man. I wouldn’t be able to reason with him. He was on the hunt, and I was his prey.

Out of options, my only hope was to shift and pray that I could outmaneuver him somehow.

There was no other way to survive the torments that he likely had in store for me.

I hesitated as anxiety washed over me. I didn’t shift often, and I was worried that it might happen a little too slowly, leaving me open to attack during the change.

I chastised myself for not having thought to shift before I was in immediate danger.

I truly was the worst wolf alive. No wonder my pack hated me. I was a complete liability. A disgrace to the species. I gave proof to everything awful they believed about mutts.

I was just about to begin my shift when I was pulled from my thoughts by a snarl. That moment of hesitation had cost me. I began to shake as I watched the rogue stalk toward me.

Getting out of here was seeming more and more impossible by the second. And if this rogue didn’t get me, then I feared another likely would.

It was shift now and take the risk or die trying anyway. I took a deep breath, and then…

A powerful howl erupted through the air, reverberating off the walls.

The howl certainly hadn’t come from the rogue. He wasn’t strong enough.

My senses suddenly flooded with the distinct scent of peppermint and pine. I knew the source of that howl.

Why is the alpha here?!