The Mahani Wolves

Chapter 2 - Nicolas

It's a beautiful morning. 

I cannot help but bask in the glow of the smiles and hugs, given and received, as I get my three children up, dressed, and fed. These little ones fill the hole in my heart left by their birth parents, my brother and his mate. As the pair took their last breaths, I swore an oath to raise their children as my own. 

It isn't a chore, but a privilege. I love them all so much.

While the older two are headed for school by bus, I  am dropping the youngest off at daycare, planning my day in my mind.

Late last night, I received information about the liberated children, but thankfully, I am not responsible for them. Alpha Three was in charge of that mission, and she is going to need me today. Knowing what I have to put her through makes my heart ache, but she needs me to help her sort out her feelings and repressed memories. I'm sure she had a rough night.

After doing the hand-off, my feet take me to the local coffee shop, where my instincts tell me I am being watched. Even though it's probably nothing, I follow standard procedure and contact the Delta team to which I am assigned.

"Gamma One to Delta Four, I'm being followed."

"Understood, Gamma One. I'm getting you on camera now. Betas in your area are being notified."

I pull my senses to watch around me while walking normally. I can feel someone about five stores ahead of me, closing in.

"Delta Four, I have one person coming towards me..."

Shooting pain on the back side of my right shoulder cuts me off. It seems the man coming toward me is not working alone. Within a few heartbeats, I realize I can no longer mindlink and am falling to my knees. 

If the tranquilizer dart is strong enough to immobilize me this quickly, it is strong enough to kill me. Only specific chemical mixes work on wolves; and of those, just a few work on Mahani.

My thoughts immediately go to my children. They just lost their birth parents, and now they are going to lose me too. I need to keep my head until help arrives. Staying alive until the Betas can get to me is my top priority.

Even though my senses are now paralyzed, the man approaching me stands out simply because we have met before...

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"I'm sorry, Blood Alpha, but I have a mate out there, and until they reject me or I am older, the mate bond will not allow me to take another."

He doesn't want to hear that, but I am not interested in him. While there are many same-sex couples within the Mahani and even a few triads, I prefer females.

"You are truly saying NO to a Blood Alpha?!"

"I'm sorry, Blood Alpha, but the answer is no," I say politely but firmly.

My Blood Alpha is not here, but the Betas on this mission are, and I am ushered out of the room quickly. I can hear him and his brothers yelling at the Betas. He didn't take that news well.

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We all knew the Blood Alpha was close to being evil, but he didn't step over the line, so there wasn't anything we can do but watch him. That was four months ago, and he seemed to move on to others. 

Since his brother is picking me up and walking with me in his arms, I know I am in trouble. My eyes are open, and I can see and register everything around me, but I can't react or let my people know what is happening.

A human woman stopped when I fell to my knees on the street. The brother told her we were meeting, as I hadn't been feeling well. She now believes he is taking me for medical treatment.

The irony is that without medical treatment; I am going to die. I'm sure the dart disappeared quickly before she saw it. It doesn't matter; the drugs running through me are lethal.

I am put into the back seat of a car roughly. I can only see the back of the front seat, but it is only seconds before we are moving.

After what feels like an hour but is probably only a minute or two, the car stops. I am, again, roughly grabbed and moved into a van. I am tossed onto a mattress that takes up the whole back of the vehicle.

I instinctively know what is coming and why someone gave me such a hefty dose of the drugs. He needs me conscious but unable to fight back so he can force a mate bond by raping me while giving me a mating mark. This is a wrong move on his part.

While most packs have banned this practice, the Blood Alphas still get away with it. But this one did not do his homework because anyone who studies the Mahani knows we can easily prevent a forced mate bond from forming. It's one of the many powers we have. I feel myself fading out, but I know I must stay awake for this nightmare. I can quickly stop the bond from forming by rejecting the wolf of the human.

As I feel the man ripping my clothes, I chant in my head.

I reject you.
I reject you.
I reject you.

It is getting harder to do as the pain hits, and my emotions at what is happening to me spiral out of control, but I know help is on the way.

I reject you!
I reject you!
I reject you!

I need to think of my children and my mate. Oh, no! My mate! She's going to be in so much pain over this! Please be strong, love!

I REJECT YOU.
I REJECT YOU.
I REJECT YOU.

Suddenly, someone rips open the back doors of the van. The brothers of the Blood Alpha attempt to tackle the Betas, as I am marked.

I REJECT YOU!
I REJECT YOU!
I REJECT YOU!

"Why can't I feel the mate bond!" the Blood Alpha screams in my face.

"Because he rejected you," the Beta states before pulling him off me and quickly knocking him out.

"Hold on, Nicolas! The medical team is on the way!"

Inside my head, I'm crying while still chanting. I will live another day, but the damage done will last a lifetime.

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Introduced:
Nicolas (Gamma One/Mahani)
Unnamed Blood Alpha & Brothers

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