Healing The Alpha Collection

by Jessica Ryan

  "This is all there is?" Beorn asked. "A couple dozen of you?"

  "Others are hiding in the forest," a young boy with a shaky fear in his voice said as he stepped forward. "Plus you killed a lot of us, alpha." When he finished his sentence he quickly dropped his eyes, afraid to look at his alpha directly.

  "Hiding?" Beorn asked. "What for?"

  "Retribution from the majority," the boy said.

  "What's your name, son?" Beorn asked.

  "Timber, sir," he said, finally looking up. "My father was the number one beta for Forrest."

  "Are there any betas left?" Beorn asked.

  "None," Timber said.

  "So what are you even planning to do?"

  "Whatever you tell us to do, alpha."

  The other wolves all nodded in agreement, even the shifted ones.

  "I don't know what's going to happen to you," Rowan said, stepping forward. "Aster still hasn't made a decision."

  "We don't recognize his authority," Timber said.

  "Too bad," Rowan said. "Your alpha agreed to be a member of the five packs agreement. He agreed to live in Bucklin under the rule of the head alpha and be a part of the alpha council. If he changed his mind about, that he should have solved it like a civilized person. What he shouldn't have done was join up with two demons and their gang and bring ruin to our city. You declared war on us; we did not declare war on you."

  "But you did," Timber said. "We all recognized the old ways and your father snuffed them out and then Aster continued that crusade. You declared war on our way of life."

  "Who told you that, son?" Rowan asked, getting really close to Timber. Beorn could hear some of the wolves growl and snarl, but he didn't fear they would be stupid enough to strike.

  "My father."

  "Your father was a goddamn fool," Rowan said. "Forrest could have democratically challenged for the head alpha spot at any time. It might not be the old ways, but we had rules in place. He agreed to live by them."

  "He had no choice."

  "Everyone has a choice," Rowan said, turning to walk towards the door. "You all made yours and now you have to live by it."

  "Alpha?" Timber asked as the door swung shut behind Rowan. "Is what he says true?"

  "Forrest was a goddamn fool," Beorn said. "I didn't know your father. Your pack poked a sleeping bear, son. You might not like what you get when it wakes up."

  Beorn knew that as mad as Rowan was at this pack, that was nothing in the face of Aster's rage. This pack was more than likely about to become extinct, and Beorn wasn't sure how much he cared.

  Chapter 22

  Hawk sat in the back of the room as Aster finished his proclamation and declared himself king shit of Bucklin. He had told everyone to put out the word about his meeting at the high school gymnasium tonight, but Hawk wouldn't be there. Everyone was required to attend, but Hawk still wouldn't be there.

  He already had a meeting set up in about twenty minutes with the higher ranking members of his pack. As a matter of fact they should all be waiting at his house right this moment and Ciara should be leaving Eva's house and making her way over as well.

  The plan was pretty simple: pass off leadership of the pack to his top beta, Raptor, and then pack the bare minimum before taking off with Ciara. They would return to where her car was, gather up everything she had brought for her camping trip and return to her home. Hawk already had a duffel bag full of cash he'd drawn from his account that he'd use to pay her fines and get her off the hook for her past misdeeds. By this time next week her sordid past and his pack life would be a distant memory and they'd be able to start a new life—together.

  "Hawk," Rowan said, turning back to him. "Can you help spread the word?"

  "Of course," Hawk lied. "I'll get it to my pack and they'll spread the word."

  "Good," Rowan said. "Your pack should be able to blend in with the mob and let them know without any problems."

  "Of course," Hawk said, smiling. "I'll get on that now."

  Hawk stood up and had started to head for the exit when he felt a powerful hand grab him by the forearm and spin him back around. It was Rowan, who had moved very quickly to catch up to him after asking for his help. There was a fire in Rowan's eyes and his nostrils flared as he looked Hawk up and down. His jaw was set and clenched tight as he fought with himself to get the words out.

  "Can I help you?" Hawk finally asked. He was as strong as any other alpha, but Rowan's iron grip was starting to hurt his forearm.

  "You've been a good friend and a good alpha," Rowan said. "Take care of yourself out there."

  "How did you…" Hawk started to say, but Rowan held up a hand.

  "Don't worry. Just take care of yourself, buddy."

  "I will," Hawk said, nodding.

  As he walked out into the mob, which immediately began to turn their frustration on him, he felt a sting in his heart. He had known Rowan for so long, and now here he was sneaking off in the middle of the night and leaving him to deal with this mess.

  No, he thought as he began to slip into the mob, using his skinwalker powers to blend in. As quickly as the alpha had exited City Hall he vanished, a distant memory to the angry mob who had turned their attention to him. I wanted to leave before the weekend when I rescued Leena. I promised Ciara I would stay and help until things were set right. Abaddon is dead and Leena's demon has been banished. I'm free to do whatever I want. It's time for me to move on.

  He felt another sting in his heart, this one different from the last. Was it sadness? He had to admit that it was. The guilt was washing away, but he was overcome with sadness at Rowan's goodbye. Saying goodbye was never easy and in this case it was goodbye forever. After today Hawk would never lay eyes on another resident of Bucklin.

  "It's for the best," he said to himself as he began to walk down the sidewalk. Everyone who looked at him saw a desperate-looking wolf walking quickly away from the trouble that was transpiring behind him, but as soon as they looked away they would forget they had ever seen him. In time the other members of the town and his pack would forget what he looked like, and eventually the name Hawk would just be a distant memory whispered on the prairie winds as the wolves looked up from their hunt. He would be a ghost after today.

  It didn't take long for him to make it back to his street and his home. As he walked up to the old, two-story place he'd called home for so many years, he slowed down and took in the scene around him. Violence and death had occurred here the night before. There were several dead bodies in his front yard and there was broken glass everywhere. His front door had been knocked down and his front window was broken out. As he drew closer he saw many of his betas waiting just inside the house, all of them wearing a concerned look.

  Raptor looked up, a smile sweeping across her mousey face as she saw his approach.

  "Hawk!" she cried, running out to meet him on the sidewalk. "We saw what happened and feared the absolute worst."

  "I'm fine, young one," he said, pulling her in for a hug. His conversation was always more stiff, more formal with his pack. It was too difficult to show emotion around them. That was not the way of the Skyvale pack.

  "We can see that now," she said, composing herself and regaining her steely demeanor after taking Hawk's cue. "It just pleases us that you're alive. What happened to your home?"

  "A fight," he said.

  "We can see that," she said. The other wolves, his other three betas, had spilled out of the house to join Raptor on the lawn. "Were you involved?"

  "No," he said, meeting each of them with his fiercest gaze. "I was captured by Satan's Angels. It was Aster who did the fighting…alone."

  He made sure to lean forward, emphasizing alone as he looked into each of their eyes.

  "I am sorry, alpha," she said. "We didn't think it was our place to interfere. We watch, but it isn't our place to fight. The Dawnguard fights."

  "Not even the Dawnguard fought on this night," Hawk said, feel
ing the anger begin to rise inside him. "They hid in their homes, just as my pack did. They tucked their tails and waited for someone to save them. Is that what wolves are supposed to do? Do we hide when our territory is threatened and hope that someone stronger will come along to protect us? No! We fight for what is ours and we fight for it to the death."

  "Alpha, I…" Raptor said.

  Hawk stuck his hand up to shut her mouth. This pack was a joke; all the packs were a joke. They each had a specific purpose, but none of them fulfilled it when push came to shove. Sure, the Skyvale pack could keep an eye out around town for suspicious activity and report it when it came up, but for the most part they were glorified voyeurs. They were no better than a pervert watching his newlywed neighbors from the front lawn. He would not be turning over control of the Skyvale pack today, not today and not ever.

  "Is this all we are? Scared little watchers who hide out and refuse to interfere? What good is a wolf with wings if it refuses to swoop in out of the night and strike terror into its enemy's heart? What good is keen vision if it's only used to watch and not protect? I can't bear to look at any of you. You have disappointed me too much."

  "But, alpha…" Raptor said.

  "I have one more task for all you," he said, looking at them sternly. "When you hear what I am going to do, you can choose to accept my task or not. I really don't care. Aster has requested that we spread the word about a meeting at the gymnasium tonight. Wolves only, no humans allowed."

  "We can do that, alpha," Raptor said with a renewed enthusiasm in her voice that almost made him change his mind.

  "There is an angry mob outside City Hall. Blend in with them, spread the word and make sure they know what's happening."

  "What else is required of us, alpha?" she asked.

  "Nothing," he said. "This is the last thing I will ever require of you. I'm leaving Bucklin tonight…forever."

  He let the words sink in for a moment as he watched the color drain from his betas' faces. They clearly hadn't been expecting him to say this and each of them looked like he had stabbed them right in the stomach.

  "You can't leave us," a tall, skinny beta named Avery said. "We're your pack."

  "Not anymore," Hawk said. "I'm through with pack life. I am sorry if this hurts any of you, but I will not participate in this farce of a town any longer. I'm done with Bucklin and I'm done watching. Tonight I will leave you forever, and if anyone follows me, they will not like what happens to them."

  "But…" Avery and Raptor said at the same time.

  "You have a task. Do it now!"

  All of his betas snapped to attention and began to move, preparing to spread the word to the rest of the pack that wasn't a part of the mob.

  As Raptor reached the end of his sidewalk she turned and looked back at him with a single tear rolling down one cheek. "I'll miss you, alpha. Please take care of yourself."

  "I always have and I always will. Be good, Raptor."

  She smiled sadly one more time and then took off, disappearing into the neighborhood. She was very good, probably the most worthy successor for his position as alpha, but Bucklin didn't need a watcher anymore. Bucklin needed a damn therapist to heal it. Hawk wasn't that person and he never would be. There was someone who needed him above all else—Ciara. She was always at the forefront of his mind and she needed his help in repairing her life more than Bucklin would ever need him.

  As he walked into his house he looked around at the destroyed mess that used to be his entryway. It looked like there had been a battle here, although no bodies littered the entryway.

  "I'm glad I don't have to clean up this mess," Hawk said as he sighed and looked upstairs. He was going to pack light and grab just a few things before going on his way, but as he stepped over the broken glass that had once been a part of his life he shuddered and took a deep breath.

  Without another word he went and grabbed the broom, then casually swept up the broken glass and bits of furniture that had once been his furniture and windows. After that he carried the broken furniture to the curb and stacked it neatly for the trash collectors to pick up. Then he entered the garage and found some old boards he'd kept from a prior project. He used them to board up the front window and the broken back door. After that he ran some water in the mop bucket and mopped up the dirty boot prints that remained from his kidnapping the night before.

  When all of that was done, his house was back to normal and ready for anyone else who wanted it. All he had to do now was pack and he could be on his way.

  Instead, Hawk found himself sitting on the stairs and staring out the front door at the afternoon sun. He didn't know how long he stared out in a daze, but by the time he finally snapped to, the sun had begun to dip in the sky as it prepared for late afternoon.

  "All I have to do is pack," he muttered.

  Chapter 23

  Leena sat in the press box at the top of the high school gymnasium. She was pretty sure she didn't want to be down on the court where all the citizens of Bucklin could see her. Some of them surely had seen her body running with Satan's Angels the night before. She feared the retribution some of them might come up with. Alone, these wolves were cowards, but together they were an angry mob prone to irrational outbursts and attacks. Not even Aster could save her from their brunt if they moved on her like an angry tidal wave.

  Luckily nobody had seen her hiding in the press box yet. The citizens of Bucklin had all milled in and continued their discontent as they filled the stands and spilled out onto the court in front of the small stage Aster had set up. Aster, Rowan and Thorn sat on the stage with Beorn standing just behind it with Rain.

  Leena smiled when she saw Rain standing there with her arms wrapped around Beorn's thick, hairy waist. She had known Beorn before she had been taken and had always liked the grumpy bear. He deserved happiness and it looked like he had found it. Every time she looked at Rain she couldn't help but smile. It was still unbelievable to her that of all the people in the world, her brother and Aster had been able to raise an eight-year-old girl to adulthood. She was irrational and impulsive, as most young women are, but she also had a keen eye, a sharp mind and a strong heart. She had definitely picked up on the best qualities of Rowan and Aster, even if she had inherited their temper too.

  Conspicuous by his absence was Hawk. The lanky alpha was nowhere to be found on the stage. Aster and Rowan didn't appear too broken up over it; Aster was standing at a podium glaring at the angry crowd. Unfortunately, they wouldn't calm down and let him speak. They sounded more like an angry hornet's nest than a collection of wolves.

  What has this town come to? Leena thought. It's just a pissed-off mob with nowhere to channel their anger.

  Leena could feel something bad in the pit of her stomach. There was nothing Aster could say to calm the town down. They were pissed that violence had come to their doorstep.

  We're wolves, she thought. Violence is a part of our lives. Have they forgotten so much about the old ways?

  Leena had never lived through the old days, but she had been told plenty by her father about her grandfather's generation. It had been a brutal time: kill or be killed. The strongest survived and the alpha mated with everyone in the pack. She was happy that some of those days were behind them, but at the same time she missed the ability to just shift and be free.

  "Can I have your attention?" Aster asked into the microphone, drawing her back to the scene unfolding on the gym floor. "If you would all just calm down…"

  Rowan was trying his best to keep angry townspeople from getting too close to the stage, but for the most part they weren't backing away. It was a mob mentality and they wanted blood rather than soothing words.

  "Everyone step down and shut the fuck up!" Aster screamed. "I am your alpha and I am telling you all to be quiet!"

  That caught the attention of a lot of the crowd, but there was still a section in a rabble-rousing mood who wouldn't listen to any reason.

  Fina
lly Aster lost his cool and just began to talk over the crowd to try to get control of them.

  "If you don't want to listen, that's fine, but I'm going to talk anyway! Yes, there was an incident in our little town over the weekend. Yes, we were attacked. That's all true. We were attacked again by Satan's Angels. They came suddenly and captured our alphas, rendering us all useless. I was able to fight many of them off, but even I was captured."

  Some people in the crowd had begun to listen.

  "However, I was able to defeat the demon Abaddon in mortal combat and drive the invaders from our city. Yes, there was a pack who betrayed us and joined up with them…"

  "We want their heads!" one person screamed and he was suddenly joined by a cavalcade of agreement.

  "Everyone hold on!" Aster said, putting his hands up. "I'm not sure that pack did anything wrong."

  This brought silence to the crowd as every eye turned towards Aster and every ear opened to listen. He had to be very careful with what he said next; the room was a powder keg.

  "We've lost our way," Aster said. "It's true. We were once werewolves, the fiercest and baddest shifters on the planet. Nobody fucked with a pack of wolves: not bears, not cats, nobody. Many would choose suicide rather than face a pissed-off alpha wolf and his betas. But what the hell happened? I'm seriously asking. Because last night all of your territories were threatened. And what did you do? You hid in your homes like scared puppy dogs. You refused to stand up and defend your territory. Hell, the Bloodmoon pack has been without an alpha for over two weeks and nobody has stepped up to take his place. The packs are a joke right now. Nobody follows their alpha except for a select few. If you all want to be humans, that's fine. You can be humans, but I'm not. I'm not a goddamn human and I won't ever be human. I'm a wolf and I'm damn proud of it."