Alpha Brothers - the King (book 1)

Chapter 29

Chapter 29
Olivia
I wanted to kill everybody. It was seven in the morning, about three hours earlier then I would normally wake up at, and I was in the forest, ankle deep in mud.
"Stupid Callum, stupid Graham, stupid, stupid, stupid," I growled through my teeth trying to kick my way through the mud.
I clung on to the lonely standing trees, my only way of not falling on my face.
This was a stupid idea. One of my top ten stupid ideas. I had no idea where I was going if I was even going in a direction at all. Everything looked the same. Trees, mud, more trees, a hill or two, more mud, a slope.
I had no sense of direction. And why would I. I've lived in New York my whole life. I didn't know anything about the wild.
I groaned, feeling my legs start to shake with exhaustion. A small hill was on my right but it took me out of the mud. Finding my last lot of strength, I struggled up the hill. Without stopping myself, I flopped down on the damp grass but it was a sweet substitute for mud. The thin trees stood tall blocking any chance of the sun getting through as the clouds grew grey and I could smell rain.
I groaned and hit my fist on the ground hating myself.
I tried to do something good for this damn family and this was where it got me. In the middle of nowhere, covered in mud and it was probably going to rain.
Callum was going to kill me. I could practically hear his voice. How dare you danger yourself for comin' after me and my stupid ass brother. I smiled at my attempt of a Scottish accent knowing that he probably wouldn't call Graham his stupid ass brother. Though I'm sure Allie would.
I'm sure she would call him –
I froze when a stick snapped behind me. My eyes squeezed shut from instinct and my whole body tensed. When I heard another snap my mouth suddenly felt dry. Please to God let it be Callum I prayed.
Carefully, I turned around. My heart sunk when I didn't recognise the wolf. The wolf wasn't small but it wasn't as big as Callum. His fur was mostly black accept for underneath him which was white as well as his face. His eyes shone that familiar gold which gave me hope that it was Graham and not someone else.
"G-Graham?" I stuttered hoping he would recognise my voice.
He just stood there for a few moments staring at me before his fur finally melted away and became skin.
I sighed in relief when a dirt covered Graham appeared.
"Oh Graham," I sighed in relief before I could stop myself.
He chuckled and without realising my eyes landed on his not so face.
"Ah, Graham," I started turning my gaze away from him, "your kind of naked."
"Oh, ah, hand us your coat."
"What?" I asked looking at him and holding my coat close to me, "but it's cold and it's a designer."
"Fine, you'll just have to put up with my nudity. Tell me, how much bigger am I?"
I scoffed and rolled my eyes giving up my coat. I through it at him, not caring about aim, wrapping my arms around me for warmth. I'm going to kill Callum's stupid ass brother.
"What are you doin' out here?" He finally asked me wrapping my coat around his waist.
"I'm looking for you and Callum. I didn't like the idea of leaving last night the way we did."
"Well you should have stayed home. We would have come back when we were ready."
"Yeah well, after last night I wasn't sure that you would."
He shrugged, "I would have eventually. Do you have any idea how hard it is bein' a rogue?"
I scoffed, "that's the only reason you would come back. Because you didn't want to face the world alone. Not because of your family?"
He shrugged again.
"Do you always only think of yourself?" I asked narrowing my gaze at him.
"Most of the time," I scoffed at him, "hey don't judge me. This world is a lot harder than it seems. Sometimes you have to look out for yourself. You should know that."
My eyes widened, "how would I know that? I wouldn't be out here if I was looking out for myself."
"Exactly. What if it wasn't me that found you, what if it was another wolf? Then they would have killed you and you would have died for nothin'."
"I would have died for Callum and you and this stupid family!" I snapped.
Guilt washed over his face reminding me of his family. He was so like them so much but he seemed so determined not to be.
I sighed and stamped my foot on the ground.
"Now, are you going to help me find Callum or what?"
Just as he want to answer, I heard another stick snap from my right. My heart started to race at the sight of the huge black wolf with those familiar gold eyes.
Graham chuckled, "I think he found us."
"Callum," I started, pacing over to him as his fur bubbled away and became skin.
"Liv -,"
He didn't have time to finish. I had already thrown myself at him, almost knocking the stuffing out of him.
"I'm so sorry," he told me, hugging me tighter, "I should never have run off."
"No you shouldn't have," I told him hitting his back but not letting go, "never ever do that to me again. There's only so much mud I can take."
He chuckled but I was telling the truth.
"I love you," I mumbled against him.
"I love you too."
"Hey and I'll love you too if we can go now."
I rolled my eyes and peeled apart from Callum's arms to give Graham a death stare.
Pointing at Callum he said, "See, told you I was bigger."

Callum
My brother and I walked on each side of my mate in our wolf forms, trying to stay warm as the water from the sky started to fall. I could hear the clicking of my mates teeth and see her visible shaking.
Halting to a stop, I whimpered at her.
"I-I'm fine, C-Callum," she reassured me, but it was clear that she wasn't.
I nodded my head at my brother gesturing for him to nudge her towards me. He did as I asked surprising her as he did.
"Do you want me to ride you?" she asked pointing at my back.
I nodded.
"Okay," she said but she wasn't sure.
I felt her tug at my fur and felt her tiny body on my back.
"Oh okay," she said more sure, "It's like riding a horse."
Smallest, hairiest horse I've ever seen
I growled at my brother, finding his comment not helpful. He grumbled at me but started to walk. I followed him, keeping in mind the precious cargo that I carried. Soft moans came from my chest as I felt her nuzzle her face between my shoulder blades, protecting it from the soft rain.
Almost home, my queen, almost home.
It wasn't long till we came to the large building that my human recognized as home and the ground underneath my paws became gravel. My mate climbed off me and patted my ears before going inside. The human inside of me guessed that she was getting some clothes.
My Brother sat with a grumble, tired of waiting.
In a couple of moments, she returned with clothing. I shifted back to my normal form, thanking Liv as she handed me a pair of jeans and a sweater before she did the same to Graham. We had just gotten dressed when Archie, Allie and even Malcolm ran outside.
"Hey, when Liv told me what she did –,"
"You bastards!" Allie yelled, pushing Graham to the ground before trying to push me as well. Unlike Graham, I only stumbled back.
"Allie, do that again and I'll go back, I swear it," Graham warned her with a groan.
"I hope you do it then, see if I care. And you," Liv froze when Allie turned to hear, "Don't ever go out there by yourself, do you hear me? You're the closest thing I have to a sister and I don't want stupid idiots like my brothers to kill you."
Liv opened her mouth to speak but was frozen still.
"I-I'm sorry," she finally stuttered, holding on to me tight.
"Allie, you don't have to be –,"
"Oh I'm sorry Brother, was I the one who put her in danger?"
My eyes narrowed, hating what she was suggesting. Mostly because it was true.
"Wow that only took about...one minute for things to blow up in our faces. Quite an achievement, wouldn't you say Callum?" Graham stated not being helpful. 
"Look, it's about to rain, your filthy," I started, pointing to Graham, "Liv's freezin' and I'm tired. We'll finish this later."
"I wouldn't hold my breath," Allie said narrowing her eyes at me, "You will forget all about it, like you always do."