by Angela Foxxe
It gave her strength, knowing that she was in control of the creature for once. She normally had excellent skill over the animal, submerging her urges and keeping her within reasonable limits and boundaries. Since she had been taken prisoner with Noemi, the beast had grown incredibly hard to control. Even when Alexa was lounging, thinking about nothing, the wolf wanted to press forward. Last night with Antony, she was almost certain that it would take over and ruin their entire night. Thankfully, the beast had been content with howling and romping around inside of Alexa.
Alexa reached the stream at an hour past dawn. She hadn’t been expecting it to be quite so far away, but perhaps she had walked slower than she normally would have walked. It was the first time in what felt like years that she hadn’t been forced into a run for her life. It was calming and soothing, knowing that everything was turning up for them. They might have been caught by a free pack soon, but Alexa had confidence that they could explain themselves. They were runaways from a cruel system, surely the world around them had to understand.
The water was frigid from the moment that she put her toes into the edges of the shore, but it steadied her frayed nerves even more than earlier. Alexa looked up at the sky as she walked into the river, tiny fish swimming around her feet and legs. The water was deep enough to go up to her stomach, and she stood in the middle for a long time until she adjusted, eyes still focused high on the sky. Her mother had said once that a beautiful sky meant that it was going to be a beautiful day.
Despite being on bad terms with her mother, Alexa didn’t mind thinking of her old sayings and remembering them fondly. Her mother deserved some credit for raising her, and for raising her well. Traitorous she-wolf or not, she did what she could to make Alexa’s life just a little bit easier when she could. Alexa looked back down at the water, admiring how the gently rippling river reflected the sky above her in such a beautiful way. Everything around her was peaceful and calm, even as she sank into the water and disturbed all of the fish that were swimming around her.
As Alexa’s head dipped under the water, holding her knees to her chest, her entire body burst out into full tremors. It was cold enough that she felt as though her very lungs were shaking, but she suffered through it for the sake of being clean. It made her feel better, knowing that she would no longer look as disgusting as she had just a few moments before. She opened her eyes in the frigid water, looking at the dirt and blood swirling off of her body and towards the end of the river, towards its final destination.
She wondered how much of the blood was her own. She hadn’t once been in the thick of things, only fighting with the male back at the pack grounds. Even then, it hadn’t been a very serious fight. She couldn’t consider it the sort of fight that Noemi would get into, going all out and fighting until Alexa was certain that she was going to kill someone. Alexa once more envied Noemi’s courage and strength. She could do whatever she wanted, and have no regrets about it. Alexa could never once be like that, no matter how hard she tried.
Alexa finally poked her head back above the surface, gasping in a huge lungful of freezing air. Her body was even colder now, since the water was drying off of her skin. She was half afraid that it would freeze onto her body, but it seemed as though it wasn’t quite that cold outside. She held her arms wrapped around herself, breathing in and out until her body had stabilized itself once more. She was turned away from the bank of the river facing the clearing that she had come from, and she was deaf to the approach of another wolf.
Antony had gone out to follow Alexa just a few minutes after she left. He wished that she would have waited for him to wake up, but he didn’t mind that she had gone ahead of him. Just a quick glance at Noemi and she had told him that Alexa had gone to the river to bathe. He followed after, wanting to be with her at all hours of the day now that he had the opportunity to. He had come too close to losing her forever, and now he didn’t want to give her up for even a moment.
“Good morning beautiful,” Antony chimed, stepping into the water. He laughed at the way that she nearly jumped out of her skin, grinning down at Alexa and tilting his head at her. “I’m sorry,” he said, tilting his head the other way at Alexa. “I didn’t mean to scare you so badly,” he said, crossing his arms. “I don’t know how you’re out here, this water is freezing me down to my bone,” he grumbled. He waded into the water until he was next to Alexa, leaning down to softly kiss her cheek and give her a greeting.
Alexa smiled up at Antony, tilting her head at him. She didn’t mind being scared so much by him; it was easy to get over once she realized who it was that had snuck up on her. The same would have happened if it were Noemi or Tracy. “I’ve gotten used to it by now,” Alexa replied. And it was true, most of the goosebumps had gone away by then, and she was no longer shivering, unlike Antony. He was beginning to shiver, holding himself tightly in his arms. “You’ll warm up soon, I promise,” she said.
After finishing speaking, Alexa looked up at Antony and furrowed her eyebrows. “Should you be in such cold water with all of those cuts?” she asked. She looked him up and down, furrowing her eyebrows at him. He looked absolutely helpless, and it wasn’t exactly a good look on him. The cuts on his legs and belly were bleeding freely, and many of the little fish in the river had scurried away as quickly as they could, trying to get away from the source of the blood that smelled so incredibly like a predator. “Isn’t is hurting you?” she continued, moving her hand up to press it against Antony’s shoulder.
Antony shrugged. Alexa could tell that he was trying to be the bigger man. He was trying to put on an act for her, to seem like the strong alpha that he needed to be for her. She didn’t blame him; it was an image that he felt he needed to uphold.
“I’m okay,” he said. He leaned down, and pressed his lips against Alexa’s. He knew that his breath wasn’t the best so early in the morning, but she didn’t complain. “I was actually wondering… maybe you could help me clean myself?” he asked shyly.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
Alexa blushed a dark red, her own cheeks mirroring the color of Antony’s cheeks. He looked so much different than the night before when he had been completely in command and in charge of the situation that had been between them. Now, he was shifting nervously as blood poured off of his body in concerning amounts, wanting Alexa’s help. She let her chest swell with pride, knowing that an alpha was stooping to ask her for help. It was a great show of submission, especially with Alexa being of a lower status than Antony’s current status.
“Yes, I’ll help you,” Alexa replied. “It’s not as though I would say no to you,” she said with a grin. She loved the idea of helping Antony, of being the one to take care of him when he was so down and out and ready to give up on everything. “We should move back to the shallows,” Alexa said, urging Antony to move backwards. “You can sit down and it will be easier for me to wash the cuts higher on your back and your hair,” she said. It made sense, plus she would be able to admire him.
“Okay,” Antony agreed.
He was in complete compliance with whatever it was that Alexa had to say to her, knowing that she knew what was best. She was a female that he trusted with his very life, and he was allowing himself to be completely vulnerable in front of her. He meandered back to the shallows of the river and then sat down in the water, making sure that it was deep enough that it came up to his ribs. Alexa needed enough water to wash him in, but not so much that she wouldn’t be able to walk around.
Alexa followed after Antony, the water coming to about her knees. It was difficult to wade around, losing her balance occasionally on the frozen and slippery, sick pebbles at the bottom of the river. She found her center easily, and stooped down to pick up a handful of water in her cupped palms. She carried it over Antony’s head, and then opened her palms to let the water fall down and soak over his body. He jumped away from the cold, but was quick to relax when Alexa ran her fingers through his hair to get rid of all of the grime that was lingering there.
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br /> “That’s really cold,” Antony muttered, furrowing his eyebrows at the feeling. It certainly wasn’t pleasant, and he was sure that by the end of the cleaning, he was going to be an ice cube. Alexa’s hands were warm where she was cleaning him, rubbing circles into his stiff muscles and trying to make him relax. “I don’t know why I thought that this was such a good idea at the time,” he mumbled, shivers going through his chest and escaping him in little puffs of chilled air. “I’m going to get hypothermia at this rate.”
“You won’t get that cold,” Alexa scoffed with a little smile. She pressed her hands against Antony’s shoulders in repetitive motions, circles and gentle presses that had his muscles relaxing in just a few seconds. He was being a bit of a baby, but Alexa didn’t blame him. He had the right to complain after everything that had happened to him over the past few days. Alexa worked her hands lower, occasionally bringing up more handfuls of water to clean Antony gently and steadily. The process was slow, but was getting done as it needed to get done.
“We should get going, you two,” a female voice called, standing behind the two of them. Noemi had gone after the two of them once Tracy had woken up, sporting new clothes for the two wolves who had long since lost their clothes to their passions. She dropped the threadbare furs from the doe onto the ground, having thrown them together as quickly as she could. “There’s not a lot of time in the day, and we need to get moving as fast as we can and make up the last of the distance. There’s no telling what will happen to us today,” she said.
Alexa, having just finished cleaning Antony, stood up with a nod. Her hair was a crazy, freezing mess, but she was grateful for the clothes that Noemi had fashioned. She pulled on the loose outfit, knowing that it wasn’t exactly flattering, but glad that she had something to protect her shivering body from the cold once more. When Antony stood and walked over to her, Alexa handed Antony the clothes that Noemi had made for him. They just barely fit him, but he looked better now that he had more warmth to cover his body with.
Tracy stood just to the side of Noemi, keeping her weight off of her front left paw. She had been seriously injured, and she was still too weak to shift into a human again. She longed to be able to talk with them, but her thoughts were interrupted by Alexa, who was suddenly in front of her. Alexa dropped to her knees, and wrapped her arms around the alpha she-wolf’s bruised neck. Tracy wanted to jerk away from the attention, but allowed herself to be held by Alexa. She was simply trying to be a kind wolf, and Tracy needed to accept it.
“Thank you for everything that you have done for us,” Alexa said. She kissed the top of Tracy’s head, and held the wolf as close to her as she possibly could. She knew that Tracy was weak and injured, and she didn’t want to hurt her more than she was already hurt. “You protected us and fought for us so vigilantly, like a true alpha and a very brave, incredibly strong friend,” Alexa explained. “I am forever in your debt. I didn’t trust you, and you saved our lives despite my distrust. I can’t thank you enough,” she breathed.
Tracy felt a little growl rising in her throat, but it wasn’t an angry noise. She couldn’t have been happier with how things were turning out, knowing that she was wholly appreciated by Alexa. It was a nice change for once. She was used to being pushed around at the pack, being the youngest alpha and all. Her parents had both died, and she’d been begrudgingly taken in by an older couple of alphas. To be truly appreciated made her entire body feel as though she were on cloud nine, and that she would never be able to come back down.
“All right, Alexa, let go of Tracy before you strangle her,” Noemi teased. She knew that it wouldn’t happen, but it was a dangerous possibility and she really didn’t want to lose her other friend. “Tracy, you can hang out behind us if you want, keep an eye out for something to hunt if you need it. We’re going on ahead, but we won’t go far,” she said. She knew that even if they were separated at a great distance, Tracy’s sensitive nose would be able to pick them up incredibly easily and get on their trail.
Tracy dipped her head in acknowledgement to Noemi’s words, willing to stay behind if that was what Noemi wanted. She knew that Alexa, Antony and Noemi had formed a tight friendship, and she didn’t want to interfere with the relationship that the three of them had created with trust and hard work. All she needed was to know that she was accepted in their pack, and that she wouldn’t be kicked out for some unfair reason. She knew that she wouldn’t be, and so she let the three of them cross the river first and get ahead of her. In the meantime, she stayed back and dove for fish, catching a few of the glimmering, silver bodies in her maw every now and then.
Alexa crossed the river once more, holding onto Antony and keeping him propped up. She glanced back at Tracy, watching the beautiful she wolf dive for fish and catch them in her mouth. She was more talented at it than Alexa ever could have been, catching quite a few of them between her teeth and gulping them down. Alexa had no doubts that she would be able to catch up with them very soon.
“Where are we going?” Alexa asked. “Do we have any sort of plan at all?” She didn’t want to doubt her friends, but she also couldn’t imagine that they had a serious plan. They seemed to be wandering with no aim, going on their way with no rhyme or reason. She wanted to know exactly what it was that they were going to do, and where they were planning on finally settling down. “What are the rules for starting a new pack?” she asked, glancing Noemi up and down. “Certainly you both know, right?” Even to her own ears, the words were filled with doubt.
“You’re not going anywhere,” a mysterious voice called. The she-wolf who had spoken startled all three of them out of their peaceful walk. Noemi hadn’t even gotten to open her mouth to begin to reply to Alexa. “This is where you’re going to stop and turn around.” The she-wolf stepped out of the brush and trees, her arms crossed behind her back. She reeked of regality, although she was a wolf that none of them recognized her. Her hair was waist length and as white as snow, her eyes a piercing blue to match.
“Who are you?” Antony snarled. Already, his wolf was peeking through in his aggression. He wasn’t strong enough to take on a she-wolf on his own, especially one as strong as her, but he could at least make himself look stronger than she looked with a little puffing up and display of his impressive fangs. “We have no intent to harm you, let us go on our way and we won’t bother you anymore. We just want to start our own pack in the free lands. There’s four of us, and we are ready to start our life anew.”
“Your kind are unwelcome here,” the she-wolf replied. Her bright blue eyes had a glassy texture to them, one that Alexa had only ever seen in elder wolves. “We do not accept those who have come from those horrible packs in the north. We know exactly what they have done, and what you will continue to do. It’s in your legacy to be awful wolves, even if you have escaped for the time being. They will come to bring you back, or we will force you back. It is up to you what you decide,” she said, her tone cold and merciless.
“You’re blind,” Alexa murmured, staring at the she-wolf before them. She hadn’t even thought about her words before spitting them out of her mouth, and regretted it almost immediately. What had she been thinking, spitting out something like that? With the look that the strange she-wolf was giving her, there was no way for Alexa to recover from her mistake unless she acted fast. Even Noemi and Antony were giving her strange stares, questioning the horrible move that she had just decided to make. Alexa would admit, not her brightest moment.
“What do you mean to do by bringing up something like that?” the she-wolf growled. Her entire body was rippling with stress. She was clearly displeased by what it was that Alexa had said. Alexa couldn’t blame her. If some stranger came around blurting out her faults, she would be just as mad as the she-wolf in front of her. “Don’t think that just because I cannot see does not mean that I cannot tear all three of you—and your friend who is in the river fishing—to shreds. Because I can. And I will not be afraid to do so. Wolves like yourselves are not a thre
at to us, not after everything that we’ve all been through. We have come through hell to get to this point, and we’re not about to give it up just because some strangers wandered into our lands and threatened our lives with their foreign ways.”
“That’s not what I meant!” Alexa insisted, her eyes wide. “I just meant to point it out because I’ve never seen someone that’s blind and yet so strong.” She thought again about how to move forward, knowing that every word was a risk that she was taking with this stranger.
“I don’t see the point that you’re trying to make, girl,” the she wolf snarled. It was an affront to her, to be called out on her disability by this wolf who sounded nearly half her age. It made her inner-wolf bristle, wanting to make the she-wolf in front of her pay for the insolence of her words. “I’ll have you know that I was born blind, and I was allowed to climb the ranks in my pack because of my strength, not because anybody pities me,” she spat, her nose curling in disgust.
“Let us join your pack,” Alexa said, her eyes scanning over the female who jerked away from her suddenly. “I know it seems sudden, but we have traveled very far, and we have two wolves who are very injured. Three of us are alphas; they can hunt. They can be useful to your pack. I’m holding pups in me right now, and they will be ready to come in spring. If you trust us, we can be incredibly beneficial to you,” she promised. Maybe it wasn’t her best argument, but it was all that she had to offer to this intimidating wolf.
“It’s not up to me,” the she-wolf replied. “It’s up to the rest of my pack. We don’t have a single leader here. We share responsibilities and trials. Even the omegas hunt, and the alpha females can bear pups.”
Next to her, Alexa could feel Noemi stiffen up. As an alpha female, she hadn’t been allowed to bear pups, being indispensable to the pack as a huntress and an ever-present guardian.
