Alpha Ultima

Chapter 8

Lupin and I ran to our last place of solace. Our breath run ragged, chest heaving heavily, paws rubbed raw. The treeline ended and we finally stopped as the building we had been searching for came into view. Grandpa Jones cabin.

Since my mating, I hadn't been here near as much as I wanted to be. This little piece of freedom, memories, laughter... It was all I had left of the man who raised me and took after me for the majority of my life. My heart ached in my chest and I was flooded with guilt. It had been a while since I thought of grandpa, and that killed me a little inside.

I knew I could never forget him, but life moves on... the world never stops spinning. He may have been gone for years now, but the pain was still fresh in my mind. We lifted our snout to the sky and whimpered. I sent my love to the heavens and allowed all my pent up feelings to break free in a low howl.

I was a failure. I was a failure at being a Luna, a failure at being a Queen, a leader, a failure at being a partner and mate. My heart cracked heavily in my chest and low whimpers crept up our throat. I wanted to be the best influence I could be for my pack and the packs that fell under our rule, and I couldn't pick up the wrongness that surrounded us all.

How could I show my face and ask them to continue to follow me, when I have no idea how to fix this? I cannot look them in the eye and act like I had a plan, like I knew the steps that needed to be taken to find my mother, or that they would soon be able to fall pregnant or that I would do what needed to be done for them to find their mates.

"I don't know what needs to be done! Goddess, help us." I cried to the skies with a heartbreaking howl.

Lupin took off past the cabin and through the familiar trail until we broke through into the clearing. At the faded mark on the tree, we veered off the path into the heavily overgrown woods.

We didn't slow down until we reached the clearing. Wildflowers grew freely, the river still flowing peacefully, gathering into the spring of water that flowed through the lush green blades of grass. With a huff of air, we flopped heavily to the ground and dipped our chin into the cool water, staring down into its depths.

The enormous pile of rocks that built up a wall around the back of the pool of water, kept the majority of the suns rays away. I thought back to when I was a little girl, jumping from boulder to boulder, trying not to fall as I ran away from Quinn and Xander. Life was so simple then.

Lupin and I started to run over everything that had happened over the past six months, looking for any sign of where things had gone wrong but nothing substantial stood out to us. Lupin wanted to go home and talk this out with our mates, but the heavy weight of the shame that filled me... I couldn't go back just yet.

The feeling of being watched came over me. The sense of deja vu was overwhelming. I tried not to let my body stiffen or show that we had become aware of the new set of eyes upon us. Chills scattered stray goosebumps across my skin.

The wind shifted suddenly. The breeze stopped, changing direction from blowing towards our lazing body, to flowing through our fur from behind. With the change of the air, brought the scent of danger. Lupin snarled at the recognition and we were up on our feet in seconds.

As our eyes searched the treeline, a shift in the deep shadows had our eyes locking onto a dark shape of a man in the treeline. His features were hidden by the shadows, but his vibrant eyes shone brightly. The pools of green, like liquid emeralds, were eyes I would never forget. They had haunted my dreams for the past five years.

What the hell is he doing here? Why, after all these years does he show up now? It's not as if we don't have enough on our plate already, damn. He is a fool if he is to think that we won't attack and he will find that I am not so quick to forget.

Lupin bared our teeth and let out a threatening snarl at the unmoving shadow. With our hackles raised, fangs on display and feral snarls ripping up our throat, only a fool would try to take us on. Our warning had been given in full as we awaited our unwanted guests response.

The shadow began to move out of the shadow and into the meadow. Our body stilled as Lupin prepared mentally for battle. Tyler Evans stepped into the light of the clearing and raised his hands up as if in surrender. Lupin didn't let up on her snarl, we would not be so easily calmed.

"Come on, sweet stuff. Just let me talk to you." His deep voice traveled on the wind softly.

The use of his old nickname had the hair on our hackles rising to the fullest. Lupin didn't back down, she would not show weakness. The man kept his hands up as he slowly walked towards us.

"Please shift. I need to speak with you."

"Maybe we should listen, Lu?" I whispered to her through our bond.

"No way, My Carter. I can't put us in danger of him." She responded seriously.

"What could be so important that he would risk his life to speak with us?" I questioned her and I could feel her hesitation.

Images passed like bright flashes of lightning through my mind, of his lips on mine, my body being tossed onto various surfaces of his cabin in the heat of the moment as his hands roamed my skin, my hands clutching at him as I begged him to make me feel something, anything other than the agonizing pain I had felt.

The feeling of betrayal as the drugs ran rampant through my body, the blood being stolen from my veins, the sound of my skull cracking against the concrete as he threw my lifeless body down the stairs.

I had been a fool once, I wouldn't allow us to make that mistake again. But I had Lupin this time around, and Tyler would find that I was not the young, naive girl that he once knew.

"He's a Lycan, Lu, he cannot betray us. His Sire bond with his father broke five years ago. He won't be able to harm us as long as we keep our guard up and don't let him get the jump on us."

I could feel her resolve as she realized I was right. What ever reason Tyler came here to day, he knew the risks and still came out to play. I needed to hear this and I had a few questions for him in return.

"Please, Carter. Just give me a few minutes of your time." He whispered.

He was now standing around ten feet in front of me, his hands never lowering from their submissive position. We nodded our head and quickly took off to the protection of the trees to find the bag of spare clothes I had hidden.

The waterproof bag was still tucked safely in the small nook at the base of the tree trunk. We snatched it in our teeth and pulled it deeper into the thrush of the bushes. Tyler had seen us in our birthday suit once and that was one time too many.

As soon as I was dressed, I slowly stepped back into the open space of the clearing. I kept my eyes locked onto him as I walked towards him. I watched his eyes shamelessly roam over my figure and I rolled my eyes at his audacity.

"Evan." I growled and his lips twisted into a smirk.

"Release me from the bond."

A/N:

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Xoxox - Ky.