A Queen of Alphas - Season 1

S1 2 - Dante

What the hell did just happen? At first, he thought someone was coming to his rescue and was getting mightily pissed about it. A whole pack wouldn't have scared him, let alone whatever joke of an attack force this was. He had expected Marcus to pull something like that. Dominic was scheming, and if Marcus's actions were anything to go by, their Alpha Prime's plans would lead them to be even more indentured to the Swiftwind Clan. Dante had serious concerns about how deep under Silas's power the clan had positioned itself over the years, all in service of pushing back the Bloodrunner Clan. Darkshadow might be small, but that didn't mean they couldn't survive on their own. They could make it without Swiftwind breathing down their necks. But Dominic would never let that happen. Rather, Dominic liked to show his loyalty to the Swiftwind Prime by sending his men into enemy territory, to fulfil the most dangerous missions, while Swiftwind wolves stayed home, nice and warm.

It had been in such a mission that he had let his opinion slip. They had been staking out their position for hours, it was cold, and wet and he was hungry and tired, and he just said something. He couldn't even remember what it was or which way he worded it, but Marcus had turned a surprised and disgusted look at him. Since then, the other alpha's eyes were constantly on him, despite the fact he had never disobeyed an order, never stepped over the line, and always gave his hundred-and-twenty on every mission. Marcus never trusted his loyalty again, and he hadn't even tried to hide his feelings. Maybe Marcus had realized the one thing Dominic didn't know, that his obedience didn't stem from his loyalty. It was his sense of duty that pushed him to be the perfect soldier.

Still, Marcus had never done anything about it, other than watch. Until that day. He should have suspected when Marcus came with orders for the two of them to patrol together. Like an idiot, he only started suspecting when he realized how far from their Den they had come. Things had all gone wrong then and were not going any better now.

That a human had appeared was one thing, but that said human had managed to bury a blade in Marcus's neck and killed him, that he was unable to wrap his mind around. But that wasn't the most impossible of the events of the morning. What happened next was what he was struggling with now. Because it was only possible with other Weres, right?

Dante sped through the trees, the human under his arm. Five seconds ago, he would have gladly let the clan take her. Maybe not kill her but take her. No human should ever be allowed to walk away from killing one of them, much less and Alpha Second. But then it happened and what was he meant to do? He couldn't let them hurt her before he figured this mess out. They were at his heels, and fear of hitting her head against a tree slowed him down.

The pain barely registered when she dug her nails into his abdomen, or her boots hit the back of his legs, but her thrashing made it almost impossible to avoid the trees. Her insults didn't help, though they made him consider letting go of his fears; he'd be happier carrying a dead weight, a silent, still dead weight.

If he could even drop to his lower form, he could run faster, but there was no chance she would hold onto him; the way she was punching and kicking at his sides was proof of that.

But her inability to let him save her from the murderous, vengeful claws of his comrades was not his most imminent problem. There were very few places where they wouldn't follow, and only one he could reach with such little preparation.

With a surge of adrenaline and pushing every other thought aside, he rushed down the valley. If he got close enough to the wall, they'd back off, he told himself as the sounds of growling and quickening steps faded slightly behind him.

The wall loomed ahead, a tall shadow extending over the winder floor, the sun low beyond the concrete. He looked up, the tower so high, the armed soldiers behind the barriers were only distant shadows.