Pure Blood: Rise of the Alpha

by Unknown

  I prowled low in the fields shaking my fur to an orange shade. I crept towards the only farmhouse I saw. It was more like a silo since it was built out of concrete. It towered high up and was pretty wide. It had a rectangular building towards the back and what seemed like an entrance to the front and one towards the back. There were no windows except for some small slits along the upper half of the silo. It looked like a tomb. A chill went down my spine as I neared it.

  I decided to take on the back door, just because the front would seem too obvious. I stepped out of the field and dropped to the ground. It was silver but I was able to fight through it. I saw a familiar face near me, and my stomach lurched. He didn’t look in pain. In fact, he had a smug grin on his face.

  “Hi, Connor boy. Thanks for coming to my aid. I knew you would come instead of sending your dad.” Rollin said as he kicked my side and threw a silver chained-net over me and began dragging me into the silo.

  The doors opened to reveal the mage. She wasn’t what I had expected. She wore a sleek plum colored suit and had short hair like a pixie. She was quite pretty and didn’t seem capable to do much harm. Boy was I wrong.

  CHAPTER 13

  She touched me through the chains and I winced at her touch. It was like a hot iron rod burning through my skin.

  “The talisman will work with him too. He will not be able to use his gifts against you, just like his father.” She said in a hoarse voice.

  “Well Connor have a seat.” He said leading me into a room that was lines with metal walls. The whole place was deceiving. Inside the walls were lined with metal and the doors operated only by Rollins fingerprint. He took me over to a torture like chair. It had straps which seemed to be made of silver and directly across was a stand with a spinning arrow pointed at the chair.

  “Don’t you like it?”He laughed then began to jump up and down like a child on Christmas morning. Great, he’s freaking looney!

  “See, you sit here and my timer starts the countdown when I activate it from upstairs.” He said pointing to a clock on the wall with the number sixty on it. His eyes were sparkling with excitement while the mage seemed bored and walked out.

  “Then at zero, my beautiful arrow filled with silver and my mage’s concoction will pierce your heart and then spread like wildfire through every cell in your body!” He said excitedly.

  I was trying to muster the energy to fight him off before he put me in it. I started to thrash but it took so much of my energy I stopped and began to think wildly as to how I can stop him.

  “What do you want with me, other than to kill me? What do you gain?” I asked barely audible.

  “Tisk, Tisk, Connor. I’m not falling for you trying to stall me, but I’ll enlighten you since you won’t find a way to escape. My mage has made it impossible. I am leading a revolution against the cowardly way your father hides us all. We are meant to be wild not some tamed shadows that hide from humans! With your death it will show my strength and your father’s weakness. With my mage I will be able to launch my final attack on him and lead the new era of Weres.” He said all glassy eyed like he wasn’t even aware I was in the room.

  He lifted me onto the chair and removed the chains. Before I could lift my arm the straps trapped me from my neck down to my ankles. I was trying to focus on my talent to heal hoping I could heal myself. Rollin and the Mage were talking outside in the hallway then he left and I could hear him take the stairs up. I sensed the Mage was left in the hallway to guard me. Then I closed my eyes knowing it would be a few minutes before the clock started its countdown.

  I don’t know how long my eyes were closed for but a loud shriek woke me. I tried to use my senses to see what had happened when I heard a scream.

  “Rollin! Help me!” she screamed with what seemed was the last breath she had. Then there was silence.

  I looked at the open doorway and saw my Dad. And I felt relief and courage that we would get out of this and Rollin was going to be in for a hell of a lot of pain. Dad was about to grab me when we heard Rollin’s voice boom all around us.

  ‘I would think twice about that if I were you Rafe. The silo is a minefield on steroids and I’m ready to blow this whole place up.” He said sounding even more crazed then before.

  “Rollin, let Connor leave and I will be swift executing you. If you harm him, I will prolong your death till you beg for the silver sword to slice your neck.” My Dad said with clenched teeth and trembling rage in his voice.

  “Shut up Rafe. You have no ground to threaten me! I’m the one in control here. You can’t even control my thoughts or anything.” He mocked my Dad.

  “Do you want to know why?” He said. “I had a nice visit with your sister. She was kind enough to give me a vial of her blood and the contact for a really kick ass mage that shielded me from both you and Connor’s abilities.” He explained.

  “I’ll make sure to thank her personally.” My Dad replied with an underlying threat in her voice.

  “This will end now! I know your precious council must be near so here’s your choice. We all die and my dad will take over the pack. I still win, but frankly I would much rather be the new Alpha so here’s the deal. Rafe will have a seat while Connor is left to live so I can challenge him as new Alpha. The new age of an Alpha that doesn’t treat his pack like hideous creatures that can’t roam freely.” He said and the room fell silent.

  My Dad looked at me and nodded but I shook my head. I knew Rollin was using a Mage and I tried to tell him.

  He has a mage Dad. He plans to kill us both.

  “It’s ok Connor. You’ll be ok and if it is meant to be then you will be the new Alpha. I’ve lived more years than any human and my life has had more value since you’ve been in it.” He said and gave me a half smile.

  “Tick Tock wolfies.” Rollin chimed in. “What’s your answer?”

  “It’s a deal.” My Dad said.

  “Then no funny business. I want Connor to stand up and walk out the door and you will sit in the chair. It will take me one second to blow us all so any hesitation on your part will mean no hesitation on mine to blow us all!” He yelled.

  “Agreed.” My Dad said and within a second I was released. I did as I agreed and walked backwards out the door not wanting to lose sight of my Dad. I saw him sit down and then my stomach dropped. The timer on the clock started to count back and I knew I had to react.

  I shifted as I started racing up the stairs. I passed the dead body of the

  mage. Yes! She was taken out by my Dad. I focused on my senses hoping that the mage’s death has released the spell. I know Rollin hadn’t thought of it when he challenged me, he had been delirious with the power he had yet to claim. I picked up the smell of his disgusting stench on the top floor and I got there within seconds. Unfortunately there was a silver lined door in my way that I had no way of opening. Feeling despair in the pit of my stomach for my dad while feeling the rage and anger build from the depths of me I let out a growl that shook the floor. Then the unthinkable happened.

  I felt part of me leave my body. I wondered if I died somehow and it was my soul I felt departing my body but then I saw it. The mirror image of me, my wolf spirit. I heard legends of ancient wolves’ descendants of Indians were able to detach their physical wolves and their spirit wolves from each other. Both were controllable and could do the same damage to their prey except the spirit wolf was much harder to kill and sometimes only with the use of magic. I immediately sent my spirit through the silver door while my physical self went back down to save my dad.

  I tore through the silver door and saw Rollin already in wolf form teeth drawn but I knew he was afraid. The stench of his fear was filling every corner of the room. He didn’t wait and attacked. The minute he lunged towards my underside he went right through me. Somehow something wasn’t right. I began to bleed at the spot he went through me. It was the weirdest sensation but I didn’t have a moment to think about it. I whipped around and clawed him standing partly on two legs. My claws sl
iced through him like knives. He shrieked and looked over his shoulder. That’s when I saw it. He had a child standing in the corner. My mind began to scramble for an explanation but my wolf kicked in and picked up the scent. It was a mage. He had another mage and I was probably being bound somehow from being in my full spirit form, the form that wouldn’t be able to be harmed. My spirit lunged towards the witch and his eyes grew big as he raised his hands to cast me aside, but I was faster than he must have anticipated. I lashed at his throat ripping it apart.

  Rollin eyes grew big. He knew he didn’t stand a chance against the spirit wolf. I aimed for his throat and Rollin dashed to the side. I whipped around and say him trying to get to a book, the witch’s book. I didn’t wait for him to figure out the spell he was trying to cast, time wasn’t on my side. I took the chance to come up on him through the darkness and sliced him on the side. I could see the white of his ribs and the dangling tissue. He fell to his knees and tried with his other paw to get me. But with each move my claws found their way deeper into him until I ripped my claws into him and pulled them in opposite directions. It was like tearing a Christmas package open but without the fun surprise inside. I looked at the control panel and saw the seconds down to five. I focused on my physical self and I was turning the last flight of stairs making my way to the open doorway.

  I made it through the door as the arrow shot straight into my Dad’s heart. I ran over to him and called back my spirit wolf. As I was waiting I pulled the arrow out with my teeth careful not to let any of the liquid drip onto me. I looked at my dad and he was having convulsions. I merged as quickly as I could and shifted back so I could feel him with my human hands.

  The liquid was coursing through him like a ripple effect. I could see his skin distorting in color and shape. His body was contorting and I held him and tried with all my being to heal him like I had healed Mike. I begged and pleaded to have him live.

  “Dad help me please! Help me heal you. I need to know how to do this please, I can’t lose you. Please fight dad, please fight to stay with me. You are all I have dad, please.” I bowed my head down on his chest and tried to envision a white light cleansing his body of all the poison.

  “I’m going to heal you Dad. I’m going to make you better; I won’t give up on you Dad. I promise.” I kept trying everything I even bargained all my talents away to save him. But he finally convulsed for the last time and I looked into his eyes and they were closed. I finally gave into my emotions and cried. I cried like a child but I didn’t care.

  “I love you Dad. I love you.” I said as I finally was able to speak and I kissed his head. I immediately felt the pack near. I felt a strong bond. There was a strange pull of magic entering the room and magic leaving. It felt like I was caught in a wave of magic and it felt like a tug of war. I tried to hold onto my Dad. Maybe my Dad was struggling to stay alive. It made me feel stronger and it gave me the energy I needed to try even harder to give him all of my energy. I lifted my Dad and suddenly he became light as a feather. I felt the panic come back. He wasn’t winning this fight to stay alive. I heard my packmates and they were quite close. I knew I had to step out and greet them as their new Alpha. It was my job now, and I had to swallow back the sobs and the devastation I was feeling. I started walking out with my Dad, but then carrying him felt odd. At first I wasn’t’ sure if I was getting stronger or whether it was my Dad getting lighter. Then he began to vanish. I felt a sharp pain of grief watching him disappear knowing I will never see his face again. I will never feel him put his arm around me. I will never see his smile and hear his laughter. I went down on my knees and felt my body cave in on itself, I couldn’t hold back the sobs. I couldn’t do this. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and wait for death. It may have been five minutes, five seconds, or five years, but something woke me out of my daze. Amanda. I heard her voice mixed in with the pack. Thank God she was alive, thank God the pack had protected her. I found my will to move and slowly I got up. I knew I had to be strong and later I’ll cry with her and let myself be vulnerable. I stepped out of the room and made my way to the exit. I could hear my pack’s voices as I got nearer and I kicked the door open and took my first step as Alpha. So this is who I am. I am Connor Mason and I am the Pure Blood Alpha.