Only For Her

The Dominant Alpha

****'s P. O. V

"Down goes the Alpha!" Darrell whispers and I watch the Alpha collapse. "Come on, boy. Be happy! We killed the leader of those abominations!" Dar grins and I look back towards the werewolves. They were surrounding the Alpha, and I notice three guys. Two were twins and the other looked about a year older than them. "No! Don't leave us now! Please!" The taller one screams and grabs the Alpha's hand. I lower my gun and Dar lifts it up again. "Never lower that gun. It means life or death for you around those monstrosities." He says it with such hatred, it makes me shiver. "Shoot that one." He commands and I don't. "Do it now Carson! Shoot the damn thing!" He yells. And I pull the trigger.

Bryce's P. O. V

"No, Hayden! Hayden don't leave us!" Luke screams and she doesn't move. "Luke, you have to wait at home. You screaming won't help her." Abel, the pack Doctor, says calmly. "Go. We'll be there soon." I promise him and with a final look at her still body, he leaves. I sit beside her and take her hand in mine. "I'll be back." Chase says and backs out of the room. "Alpha Bryce, she was shot with a silver bullet. We managed to take out a fragment but she's dying." Abel says and I look down at her pale face. "All that's left for me to do is remove the fragments of metal at any cost. The alloy the hunters used was soft and tended to spread inside the body. Silver poisoning is an ugly thing to witness in an Alpha. If she didn't die, she would go crazy." He says and I gulp. "Help me move her outside. We have to force a transformation." He says and I nod, scooping her up bridal style. We lay her in a patch of flowers hidden in the forest.
Her skin rippled, like something was moving under the surface. It was time. "Hang in there," I murmur, removing the gauze as her body began to distort. The wound looked worse than earlier. Parts of it had healed, but what remained looked like it was rotting. Even tiny bits of silver had a way of festering in a wolf's blood. She groans and Abel's hands hold her down. "Don't let her hurt you."
"What?"
"It's going to be bad for her. I can feel it." And, as if on cue, she groans louder, her back bows, and her grip tightens on my hand until my bones ached. She took several deep breaths. "If she's going to be bad—don't come near her. Don't let her hurt you."
"She would never hurt me," I say, trying to focus my energy to calm and force her transformation. But it couldn't touch her. Not a silver-poisoned wolf. There was a pop deep inside her body, muffled by muscle. Hayden's cry split the night. "I can't make it easier on you." My eyes burned. "I'm so sorry."

Hayden's body twisted with the transformation. It was hard to see what was happening to her in the dark, moonless night, but I've witnessed it enough times to know what she was going through. Her teeth would loosen and fall out. Her fingernails would follow. Then her hair. Her spine would grind against itself as new vertebrae grew, extending into a tail. And judging by the quiet popcorn sounds and Hayden's piercing shriek, it was happening fast. Her knees would break—I could already hear the cracking—and switch sides. I tried to focus on sending my energy out to Hayden but it was hard when Hayden was in so much pain and spraying blood on the grass. She flipped onto her side, curled into a ball of half-human, half-wolf flesh that writhed and rolled. Her eyes caught mine. There was no woman in them—only beast. And it was hungry. "Run," she whispered. "No, Hayden..." her shoulders popped and slid into place as she climbed to her paws. Glistening claws dug into the soil. Hayden's scream shattered the night. "Run!"

I ran, and Hayden chased. I flew through the long grass, my feet thudded against the soil, and the nighttime wind blasted hair back from my face. My chest heaved as my arms pumped. My legs burned. And behind me, the wolf was growling. I could run for hours, if I had to—but Hayden was faster. I could hear her gaining. I needed somewhere safe to transform so I could stand a chance against her. But she was snapping at my heels. A wolf scurried past in the corner of my vision. He was dark brown with streaks of gold. "Chase!" I yelled, and the word was whipped away on the wind. "Help!" He wheeled around, looping wide through the hills. I jump behind a tree to put the trunk between me and the sleek white monster that was Hayden. The wolves crashed together. A yelp. I glance around the tree long enough to see that Hayden had raked her long, silver claws down Chase's side. She wasn't slowed by the other wolf—not for long. I shut my eyes and began to change. It was hard to focus with my heart beating a panicked tattoo against my ribs. I focused on fur and claws, and heat swept over my skin. Too slow. Another howl, and paws were pounding on the ground again. Hayden rounded the tree. "Oh no," I whispered. I turned to run again. But my legs were reversing, my bones were growing, and my coordination was shot. Hayden plowed into my back, knocking us both to the ground. I threw up an arm to protect my face, even as it blossomed with fur. Hayden's teeth clamped on my skin, snapping just inches from my face. Blood splattered onto my chest. "No!" I yelled. "Hayden!" She twisted her head back and forth, nearly wrenching the arm from its socket. It felt like my arm was being crushed under a car. My spine popped and twisted. My muzzle grew, blurry in the bottom edge of my vision. I brought my mutating legs between us and shoved my feet into Hayden's chest, launching her off of my body. She flew into the air. Hit the tree with a yelp. I flipped onto all fours and finished the change as quickly as I could. I took a short inventory of my body—paws, tail, fur in all the right places—and faced Hayden as she got to her feet. Drool hung from her bottom jaw, but her sharp eyes focused on me. I issued a growl, trying to warn her: I am Alpha, Do not fight me. She stepped forward anyway. There was no play-bowing or impudent wriggling in the dirt. Hayden was completely serious and completely out of her mind. There was no woman in her. Only beast and raw instinct. A real werewolf from the movies. "Hayden! Bryce!" A voice echoing over the hills—Luke's voice. My head snaps up, and I searched the horizon for my brother. He was by the house. Hayden heard Luke's voice too, and she growls. I snap at her side, drawing her attention back to me. She struck. My vision blurred and doubled, and we rolled down the hill together. I twist my head around, searching for any part of Hayden to bite, trying to restrain her. Her teeth snapped on the ruff of fur at my neck. My paws. My muzzle. The pressure of her jaws on my limbs drew forth the mind of my wolf.
I surrendered to it, letting instinct carry me away. The wolf was a calming force—raw logic and cold anger. And it could fight. We bounced over rocks and slid to the shore of the pond. I flipped her over and bit her muzzle. The taste of blood flooded my tongue. My teeth ripped into her shoulder, pushing through the fur to tear at the vulnerable skin underneath. She seized my back leg. I broke free, but only for an instant. Hayden dove for another attack. I lowered my head and slammed it into her side. The force of the impact threw her into the pond. Water slopped over the rocks. She thrashed, growling and howling. By the time she emerged from the pond, fur dripping with crimson-stained water, I had the higher ground. But even with blood streaming down her face and flank, her eyes burned. Challenging me. I jump, and slammed her into the rocks. My weight pressed against her shoulders. Forced get chest to the ground. My jaws clamped tight on the back of her neck. A sense of peace spread through her—an acknowledgment of dominance. She struggles underneath me. She growls and tries to shake me off. I keep her pinned under me. My teeth clamp on her ruff of fur and press her into the ground. She struggles in my grip and I growl lowly. I feel her muscles relax.
I growl and shake her, but it was gentler than before.

I was dominant—Alpha. And she was at my mercy.