An Alpha without a Pack

Chapter 21

We stood there silently, waiting for Jake to make his mood. Several of the Sapphire and Emerald wolves moved to stand by my sister and me within reach. Jake just stood there, smiling. Something was off about him; I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"What's the matter?" he asked in a friendly tone. "You look confused about something."

I don't know how he knew where to find the bag, Rick's voice rang in my thoughts. I never told anyone. Not until Sophie gave me the okay.

Rick must not have been talking just to me because Katie's voice was in my head as well. We can't worry about that right now. We have to get that bag. Any Ideas, Aaron?

"Oh, stop keeping secrets," Jake sighed loudly dropping his arm and the bag to his side. "That's no way to make friends you know."

"What are you doing on the Silver Pack's territory?" Katie asked in a demanding tone. "You are trespassing."

"Oh, I am well aware but considering that there are no Silver wolves, I simply came to take back what was mine."

"The Catcher was never yours or the Ruby Pack's," Katie stated simply. Listening to how calm she was as she spoke to Jake gave me some confidence in the situation at hand. It makes sense why no one has tried to challenge her in her pack.

"The Catcher is not something that I'm too worried about at the moment," Jake said sounding a little bored. "I'm here to retrieve my runaway bride."

Rick's body shook as a growl ripped its way out of him. He hunched over slightly starting to shift. "You will not lay a hand on her, let alone take her back with you," he growled sounding more animal with each word. "I'll rip you to shreds if you touch my mate." Not a threat but a deadly promise.

Jakes face twisted shock, to anger, and then back to that calm, friendly smile. "Well, that certainly explains that disgusting smell on you, little rabbit. That's a bath can't fix." I watched quietly as he dropped the bag to the ground and stretched out his arms in a wide sweeping motion. All around wolves emerged from the edge of the woods, all with a different shade of red eyes.

Impossible, Aaron's voice said in my mind. There is no way this many wolves could have gone unnoticed, especially with the scent that they produce.

It doesn't make sense, Katie inquired.

I took a deep breath to try to clear my head and think but my senses were clouded with a powerful flowery scent. It's the flowers used to cure the effects of wolfsbane, I thought to them. The flowers are producing a too powerful scent.

We can't do anything about it now, I have a plan, Aaron's voice said. All the Emerald wolves have camouflaged themselves and are hiding in the tree line and the burnt buildings. All the Sapphire wolves are around us. They have both been ordered to attack when Rick and I shift and charge Jake. Sophie and Alpha Katie will stay here, protected by a few selected wolves, and will run to grab the bag on my signal. That way they can get the Catcher.

"Little rabbit," Jake cooed to me. "Why won't you come here like a good little wifey? I really don't feel like fighting your mutt today. I have a funeral to tend to today."

Looking Jake over again I realized what seemed different. With him being the Alpha now, he carried himself taller. He even looked stockier than he used to. His eyes were no longer that soft drown, but a deep red. They must have changed when he fought Eric to be alpha, possibly even killed him.

I couldn't think anymore on the matter because Rick and Aaron ran towards Jake simultaneously, shifting in the process. Jake never lost his smile, even as he shifted into his brown wolf form. His coat was a few shades darker than his father's I noted. Ruby wolves ran towards us, only to be stopped halfway by Emerald and Sapphire wolves. A few Sapphire wolves stayed back to protect Katie and me just as Aaron had promised. All around there were claws and teeth and fur of various colors. Jake must have brought his entire pack. Although we had two packs fight for us, Jakes still outnumbered us. At some point, our guards had to go fight, two wolves against one each.

Katie had shifted into her dark grey wolf with me following suit. The greenery and pink flowers felt plush against my paws. I looked over at Katie to see that not only did her fur get slightly darker over the years, but it also had taken on a blue tint. That must have happened when she became the alpha.

My thought snapped back to what was happening around us as a dark brown wolf was slung at us. My sister and I both lunged to the side just in time as the wolf made an impact with the ground with a loud thud.

That's it, Katie snorted. Nobody gets to throw a wolf at me and expect me not to join. I'm an Alpha for Moon's sake!

Without another word from her, Katie launched towards the battle, throwing herself on top of a Rudy wolf who was chasing after and Emerald. I began to pace debating with myself if I should join in the fight or wait for Aarons signal. I knew I would eventually have to fight; I mean Jake was after me after all. Just as I was getting ready to lung myself in between two wolves fighting, I felt a soft thump on my chest. It was the necklace with the three feathers. I changed my mind about joining in on the fighting, I could end it all if I get to the Catcher before Jake could get to me.

There at the far side of the clearing of the battlefield laid my brother's old satchel, still covered in dirt.

I did not think, I just ran. My claws dug into the torn-up dirt trying to gain grown faster. I began snake my way around the fight like a bird snaking its way through the branches of a tree when it is flying. Teeth tried to snap at me, bodies bumped into me, but I never slowed. Nor did I lose sight of the satchel. I was halfway to the bag when a large dark brown wolf slammed into me, causing me to lose my footing and slide in the dirt. Looking from the corner of my eye I saw that the wolf was a deranged Jake, blood dripping from his snoot.

I scrambled to get back onto my feet as Jake growled and snapped at me threateningly. We began to circle each other. I was looking either a way out this fight or for the upper hand. Jake was much larger than me, thanks to my hiding and not training. No sign of escape showed itself when Jake lunged at me. His body collided with mine, forcing us to roll in the dirt. We were a mix of teeth, claw, and brown and silver fur. Blood leaked from various wounds on both of us. At some point I had one of his ears between my teeth, puncturing several holes into the sensitive cartilage. Jake pulled back whining and threw me off him. I rolled a few times before sliding to a stop.

I watched as Jake shook the dirt and twigs from his fur and regained his footing. He found me laying, watching him with what I could only assume was fear on my face, about two yards away. Showing his teeth in a growl, he went to lunge for me but was knocked out of the air when a slightly smaller brown wolf hit him. The two brown wolves rolled out of sight thanks to the fighting.

I laid there for a second longer before I scrambled back onto my feet again and started running again towards the satchel. Without stopping I snatched the bag up off the ground and ran into the forest. Little did I realize the slight teal glow coming from the three feathers around my neck.