Alphas War

Chapter 40

Once I had bitten Maisie, we moved towards the clearing at the top of the mountain since that would be the first place the moons light would hit when it rose.

I watched as Maisie's mother held her on her lap, stroking the long bits of hair that framed her face out of her eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked her softly, my heart in pieces.

"I don't understand why they did this," she sobbed, "I told them I wasn't a danger to them. I told them I didn't want to hurt them and they didn't believe me."

"Humans are scared of us," I told her softly, "they think we are a threat to them so they want to attack us before we get the chance to attack them."

She simply shook her head. "They were my friends," she whimpered, "I was one of them."

"And now you're not."

"They had no reason to do this," she hissed, her eyes involuntarily flashing a dazzling golden colour. "She didn't do anything to them!"

"They didn't do anything to you when you attacked the other day," I reminded her, watching as a frown crossed her face and her eyes drooped, fading back to a murky brown.

"We were told they were dangerous."

"And you didn't even give them a chance to prove you wrong," I responded with a sigh. "People don't seem to understand how dangerous this is. If humans believe all werewolves are viscous killers, they are going to attack. And if the werewolves defend their pack - which is in our nature - and attack back, we only scare them more. It becomes a cycle of attacks and killing until eventually one of the species ends up wiped out."

For a while, silence fell and the only sound was Maisie's mother crying as she stared down at her bloody and beaten daughter. I hated the humans in her town for what they had done to her, not only was Maisie a child, she was also human. Just because her mother no longer was didn't mean she should have been hurt like this.

"Why didn't it work when I tried to bite her?" Her mom suddenly asked. "Is it because I wasn't born a werewolf?"

"No," I answered her with a shake of my head. "Only certain werewolves from a specific bloodline can turn humans into wolves. As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one left although I'm sure I have some distant relatives around the world with the same ability."

She nodded in understanding before her features drooped and she sniffed. "What am I going to do if she doesn't wake up?"

I remained silent, unable to assure her that her daughter would wake up and be okay. She was badly beaten and her pulse was barely there when I bit her, she was clinging to any last shred of life inside her and I was terrified that she wouldn't last until the moon rose.

I looked to Zach who had simply remained silent and kept his eyes glued on the ground since we had arrived. I knew he had taken a liking to Maisie just like I had and to see any child treated so horribly was hard on us both.

I scooted closer to him and pressed my hand into his, grateful when he took it and squeezed, reminding me he was right there.

It felt like hours of simply staring at Maisie had passed before finally, I saw a flicker of movement and glanced up to see the moon shining just over the horizon. I shuffled to sit up further, holding my breath as one by one, the slashes across her skin began to fade.

"Oh my god," her mother gasped, clutching her tiny hand in hers as she watched the moon remove any trace of the attack from the girls skin.

And finally, her eyes began to peel open. "Mommy?" She wheezed, staring up at her in a daze.

A sound that was something between a cry and a cheer escaped the woman's throat as she stared down at her daughter with tear filled eyes. "It's okay Maisie, I'm here," she whispered softly, caressing her hair with a single finger. "You're safe."

I smiled, relief flooding through me as I watched Maisie's chest rise and fall with short, shallow breaths. "What happened mommy?" She asked innocently, fluttering her lashes in confusion.

"Sh, it doesn't matter now," her mom replied, shaking her head and sending her tears dripping to the ground beneath her. "You're safe."

I frowned, watching as she pulled her closer and cradled her head against her chest. "What are you going to do now?" I questioned aloud. They were both werewolves... going back to their human lives wasn't possible anymore.

"I'm taking my daughter home," she answered instantly, raising to her feet and pulling her little girl up with her.

"Back to the people who attacked her?" I asked, jumping up myself and taking a step forward.

"I won't let them," she barked back.

"And how do you plan to stop them? Are you going to kill them? Because that's what it will take... you may be stronger but there is only one of you and a lot of them."

She shook her head, her hands clutching her daughter tightly. "I'll do whatever I need to do."

"If you want to protect your daughter, you need a pack. You're both werewolves now, you're both going to change on full moons, you're both going to be stronger, faster and more emotional. You need someone to teach you how to control your wolf or you will become aggressive."

She simply shook her head again before taking Maisie's hand and turning to walk away. "Please mommy, please can we stay," she suddenly pleaded, reaching her other hand up to halt her mother. "I want to stay with Ella and Zach."

A frown crossed her face as she eyed us for a moment and then crouched to her daughters height. "What about going home?" She asked her, her brows pulled together in confusion.

Maisie frowned and glanced down at her feet. "They want to hurt us at home," she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Ella and Zach don't want to hurt us mommy."

I glanced at Zach with pure sadness in my eyes. I hated the fact that this poor girl had completely lost her life in a matter of days, going from being an ordinary girl to being hated by her town for what I made her mother become.

"Please stay," I begged. "I can help you figure out how to deal with all this, I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you both, transitioning from being fully human to being a werewolf. Please let us help."

"You really want to stay?" She asked Maisie, not bothering to answer my pleas.

"Yes mommy!" She answered, clapping her hands excitedly.

I smiled, glad that she was so excited about the idea of staying here. "There's a lot of kids here that would be just like her. And you would both be safe here, within a pack."

She hesitated, glancing between her daughter and me several times before landing on her daughters wide eyes and pouted lips. "Please." Maisie fluttered her eyelashes up at her mother and she sighed.

"Okay. If you think we would be safer here then okay, we will stay."

I smiled as Maisie jumped up and hugged her before turning and running straight at me. "Yay!" She exclaimed as her arms wrapped around my legs.

I laughed and bent down to hug her before she leapt into Zach's arms and he raised her into the air, his arms securely around her as he spun in a circle, making her giggle loudly.