Alpha Ultima

Chapter 20

I ran. It felt as if my heart had been ripped from my chest and lodged into my throat and my chest burned with a fiery pain with each inhale of air, but still I ran. I held Shauna's head still under my hand and one arm wrapped tightly around her body. As I made my way through the grounds towards the long table that the pups had taken cover under, I counted. Seven pups were hiding and one was miraculously still asleep in my arms.

As I reached the table I dropped to the ground, sliding to a stop underneath the decorative white table cloth. All seven pups jumped in fear, yelping, before a little boy noticed who it was that had joined them and turned to the others to calm them down. My heart broke at their tear stricken faces, hope filling their eyes.

I put my finger to my lips and motioned for them to be silent and quietly mouthed that I was going to find a way to get them out of this. Tiny nods of heads responded and I smiled softly in hopes that it would ease some of the utter panic that filled them. I peaked up under the cloth and tried to get a gauge on the situation. Snarls and growling filled the air as bodies continued to clash.

No one has perished. Thank Goddess, no bodies littered the ground. Wait a minute. I flicked my eyes over the battleground and took it all in once more. No one has perished. The vampires kept on the defense, while my pack attacked them where they stood. The vampires battled just enough to keep my wolves in motion and stayed just back enough that they would not be killed in the moment.

"It's a distraction." I linked to my mates and their beta's.

I didn't get a response, and I wasn't expecting one. Quinn and Xander knew better than to take their focus away from the forefront of the attack. They also knew I could take care of myself as best as possible. Sam may not be at my side, but I was not incapable.

I have removed myself from the battle tonight to protect these pups and I will do so until my dying breath. My pack has been well trained, my mates are powerful. They could handle this fight without one more warrior, while the boys and girls cowering in fear beside me, could not.

Three vampires stalked closer to where we were hiding. Their scent was overpowering. Sickeningly sweet at such a striking level that it burned my nose. I didn't recognize it as one of the covens who joined us at the opening ceremony of the academy. They were not from around here.

"Spread out, the queen is around here somewhere. She's close. Her scent is stronger over this way." One of the vampires hissed.

I watched their feet slowly get closer to the table and realized I didn't have a lot of time. While I didn't recognize their scents, obviously someone had given them mine.

An idea popped into my head, albeit, a probably stupid one, but an idea none the less. I quickly shuffle Shauna's little body in my arms and take off my kitten heals and while I left one on the ground, I held the other tight in my hands.

Looking up at the pups fearful faces, I let out an anxious huff of air. "Listen boys and girls, I am going to cause a distraction. When I say so, we are going to run as fast as we can to the pack house and into the library. I need you all to hold hands so no one gets left behind, okay?"

Whimpers and whispers of agreement came from the little ones and I waisted no more time. I took the fleshy part of my palm and brought it to my lips, biting down hard until my pointed canines tore through my flesh and thick metallic blood pooled into my mouth and palm.

Hisses sounded from the three vampires trying to find me and I knew I was running out of time. I dripped my blood over my shoe, letting it gather and spread as it dropped before leaning down and throwing the shoe as far as I could into the tree line.

"Shit! The queen is bleeding!" Another hissed. "You idiots! You were told she was not to be harmed."

Footsteps pounded on the grass as they took off after my scent. Stupid. Fucking stupid. That never should have worked. I quickly turned back to the kids and told them to hurry after me. With Shauna held tightly in my arms, I grasped the hand of a little named Tommy and pulled the little chain of children out from under the table and we took off towards the pack house.

I shot a look behind me as I threw open the door, making sure I wasn't leaving anyone behind. My eyes flicked over the terrified little bodies and counted. Seven pups and one in my arms. We could do this.

The pack house was dark and utterly silent except for the thumping of our footsteps and heartbeats. We tore down the hallway towards the library without turning a single light on. The last thing we needed was to catch the attention of someone from outside.

Turning sharply left, we had reached our destination. I didn't let the pups slow down until we made it to the pack of the bookshelves. Red book, red book, where the hell is that stupid red book?

I shot my eyes past row after row, shelf after shelf of novels and history books looking for one, small dusty, blood red book. Two bookshelves to my right, it finally caught my eye. I pulled the pups behind me and moved to stand before it.

Once more I brought my hand to my mouth and bit into the plump tip of my index finger, letting a prick of blood pool, before running my finger over the spine of the book. It was told that at one point, the spine of the book had been a pretty pale blue color. Now a few hundred years later and unknown amounts of blood sacrifices later, the book sat on the shelf a musty, dark red. It had apparently been spelled to know whether or not those offering their lifeblood were worthy of salvation and here I am hoping to all things good and holy, that I was. I was also hoping with every inch of my soul that those stupid bloodsuckers didn't catch my scent on the spine of this novel and trace it to my babies.

A hiss of air sounded and the bookshelf unlocked, swinging in onto itself and allowing us passage. Thank you, Goddess. I could have cried as the dark entry way became visible. I turned back to the pups and began ushering them inside. I knew the dark, empty room wasn't going to help calm their nerves any, but this was our only shot.

As the last of the pups shuffle into the dark hidey-hole, I let out a relieved breath. I placed Shauna down gently onto the ground inside the room, her body curling into itself slightly with the loss of my body heat. This damn kid could sleep through a hurricane. I looked over their little faces, they were scared, but we had done it. We had gotten them to safety. If we failed tonight, at least one thing had gone our way.

"Okay, boys and girls. I need to leave." Protests and cries exploded but I calmly held up my palm and they quieted. "I promise you that you will be safe here. There is a light switch on the wall to my right, do not turn it on until this book case closes. Wait here for me, or someone from the pack comes to get you."

"What if nobody comes for us?" A little brown eyed girl whose name was Tanya, asked.

"Well, let's hope that doesn't happen, okay? But Goddess forbid, something happens and you are left alone, there is a hatch underneath the rug in the middle of the room. It's a deep tunnel and it will be dark, but it runs right under the pack grounds and into Spiritwood. I want you to take the tunnel, together you hear me? You do not leave a single person behind, and when you come up on the other side, you need to run to the academy. The headmaster's name is Jameson and he will help you."

I slowly look from one pair of eyes to the next, ensuring they understand exactly what I am saying. I need to know, my heart needs to know, that if the time comes they would follow my direction. When I hear no more complaints, I give a soft smile and start to close the bookshelf door. The door seals shut with a whoosh of hissed air and dust. I turn around and leave my pups safely in their chamber as I begin my walk back out of the pack house to take my place in this battle.