Stand Tall, Mate

FOUR

AVERY

I watch as Axel steps forward and I immediately aim the gun towards him. I snarl a warning, not to come any closer. I glance down to his leg as blood oozes from the wound. 

"Why would you say that?" He asks, bringing his hands up in defense to say he wasn't a threat. I roll my eyes, holding the gun steady. I sense the rest of the warriors back off as the Alpha's eyes glaze over slightly.  

"If I didn't turn out to be your mate, what would you have done? Throw me in a dungeon, torture me for information and then kill me due to the crimes I've committed? Attempt to anyway," I say mercilessly.

"Everybody here either hates me, admires me, or wants to murder me, why would anybody want me for a mate?" I ask again, switching aim and digging the gun into the warrior's head at my feet roughly. Axel quickly glances down at his warrior then back up to me with steel eyes.

"You're right, I would've done all those things had you not been my mate. But since you are, I am willing to put what you've done behind me," Axel steps closer and I put my finger on the trigger. Axel stops his movements, noticing mine.
Tears threaten to well as I remember why I came to be how I am today.

"Big brother!" A four-year-old me giggles, running up to a much taller and older man with black hair and green eyes. 

"Hello Avery! How are you? I've missed you!" The man picks me up and spins me around before pulling me in for a hug.

"I'm good! Look! I lost a toof!" I smile wide to show him my front tooth was indeed missing. He laughs as he tickles my side, "did you pull it out? Or did dad?"
I try to hide a blush as I look down in embarrassment, "Dad did." 

He laughs again as he sets me down but holds my hand as he leads me into the house. "Wayne! Welcome home son," my dad, who looks like an older version of Wayne, comes to greet my brother.

"Good to be home, where's mum?" He asks excitedly. Tears well in my eyes as I sniffle. Wayne looks down at me and worry flashes through his eyes. "Dad, where's mum?" Dad looks down in shame.

I tug on Wayne's hand as I lead him outside again and around the house to a flower bed. I stop before it as the gravestone of my mother sat clean and dauntingly before the flower bed I planted for her.
"W-we were attacked while you were gone, M-mummy saved me. I was too weak," I cried as I told Wayne what happened. He looked down at me with tears rolling down his face, "Oh, Ave, don't blame yourself sweetheart, I bet you were so strong!"

My big brother kneeled down beside me and took me into his arms. I winced as he touched a bruise on my lower back. I tried to cover the wince, but he noticed.
"Ave? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" Wayne turned me around as I protested, saying it was nothing. He lifted my shirt and went quiet. The big boot print on my back was enough said.

"Avery, who did this to you?" I turn as Wayne lowers my shirt; he is shaking as he stares at the ground. My heart pounds, I didn't want to get into trouble for telling him. I play with the hem of my shirt, an anxious habit I had picked up since my father's first beating. 

"Dad was mad, and he blamed me for mummy's death, so he took his mad out on me. He does it whenever I plant a new flower for mummy, I think Mummy would like the flowers," I say as I turn back to the flowers. I had planted so many lilacs and daisies for her, she loved them while she was alive. 

Wayne curses as he stands up, he looks down at me as I look up to meet his eyes. He frowns and ruffles my hair before he walks away from me. I smile as I look at my mum's gravestone and start telling her that Wayne was back, and he asked about her. I know Wayne misses mummy, because I do. 
I ignored the yelling and banging coming from inside the house as I laid, curled up against my mum's head stone. Crying to myself, telling myself it was going to be alright, that Wayne was here to protect me. 

I don't know when it had happened, but I had fallen asleep and was suddenly woken as someone picked me up quickly. I opened my eyes, "big brother?" I rub my eyes sleepily and smile up at him. I frown as I notice blood splattered on his face. Wayne looked down at me with so much sorrow and love, it confused me. 

"Are you okay? You're bleeding," I touch his face lightly as he breaks out into a sprint into the forest. 

"It's not my blood Avery, I did what I had to do. Please don't hate me," Wayne finally looks at me as tears start filling his eyes. I frown further and wipe the tears away from his cheeks, "I'm glad you're back."

Wayne smiles and sets me down gently, "I'm going to shift into Reid now, okay? And you're going to climb onto my back and hold on tight. Got that?"
"Yes sir!" I salute and giggle up at him. He smiles sadly down at me, and I start to wonder what he did. A few pops and cracks alerted me to his shift and Reid licks at my face. I giggle and push his snout away, wiping the saliva off. Reid lays on his stomach as I climb up onto his back and hold on tight. I missed riding Reid through the forest, so much freedom. 

I snuggle my face into his dark brown fur and shut my eyes tight as he takes off into a sprint.
All too quickly, I am knocked off of Reid by a large blonde wolf. I slide along the ground, sticks and rocks cutting through my skin. I start to cry and a large stick, pokes out of my left hip, "Wayne?"

I look up to see Reid and the blonde wolf fighting. I gasp in terror as the blonde wolf grips Reid by the back of his neck and throws him in my direction.
Reid quickly pushes himself to a stop before he could touch me. Reid does a once over of me and whines, noticing the stick poking out. The blonde wolf sees this as an opportunity and takes Reid by the tail, dragging him away from me. I notice that Reid isn't taking full charge but sharing it with Wayne. Wayne whips around and slams his jaws shut around the blonde wolfs snout, effectively cracking a few teeth as well as his snout. The blonde wolf claws at Wayne but Wayne clamps down harder.

Out of nowhere, another wolf twice as big as my brother jumps from between the bushes, heading straight for Wayne.

I scream at Wayne, but it was too late. The big wolf takes Wayne by the back of the neck and rips him off of the blonde wolf. I cry out as Wayne lands no more than a few feet beside me. I get up and making my way to stand in front of him. Limping as the stick is still poking out of my hip and blood is oozing out of so many cuts on my body.

I push my arms out in front of Wayne and scream out as the wolves start to make their way towards us, "LEAVE US ALONE! WE-WE DIDNT DO ANYTHING TO YOU!" I cry harder and take a step back as I feel Wayne's snout touch my back softly. I turn to look at him and shake my head.

Go, Avery. Run, and don't look back. I love you with all my heart, I wish that I could see you grow into a beautiful woman. You are stronger than you think. I hear Wayne's voice in my head. I cry as I kneel down and hug his wolf. His head nudges me away, towards the left side of him.

Run, Avery. Now. I nod my head and turn to the left, sprinting in the direction. I look back briefly but to my horror, only see the wolf of my brother being devoured by those two wolves.

I sob but push my little legs as fast as they could carry me, away from my brother, away from my mother.