Alpha Rising: The Wolf Runs
Chapter 7

THORIN

Renwick has circled that hut for the fourth time today, and I know he doesn’t even realize that he has. He makes a run around the wolf lands and always seems to come back and circle that Gamma males hut. I can’t lie and say I haven’t done the same thing because I have.

Being this close to her scent is driving me crazy. I know Ren is set in his ways about denying her and moving as far away as possible, but with the way he is acting, seeing her in person will be hard for him. Ruse the Gamma male is the luckiest wolf alive right now and I know he is relishing in our suffering.

Every time he has offered to let us in, Ren has snarled at him, which has then made the Gamma male makes her scents stronger by ringing out clothing and blankets outside when the wind is blowing particularly hard.

In a way he is helping us and torturing us. He knows that we will refuse to go inside, so he helps by ringing out her stuff so we can replace some comfort in her scent. Ruse is feeling the subtle stirring of not having his mate and I know that if it is starting to affect the male that knows he will be claimed by her then it will hit us hard.

A howl has me straightening and even though I have been hearing them, I know this one like a piece of my soul. It’s Juniper. I see Renwick straighten and his head turns to me before we both take off. I even see Ruse following. For a moment I see the shirt in his grasp, and it confuses me until he looks at me and yells out that it is for him to smell her because he will need it to transition back without pain.

Ren doesn’t look pleased, but he doesn’t stop Ruse from following us. I see Juniper still in wolf form and he is a beautiful wolf. Red and white. Ren shifts to his Alpha wolf as Juniper charges over to us and comes to a halt in front of his Alpha.

He whimpers, leaning his head down lower than his Alpha. Ren sits tall and I watch the silent communication. Ruse is the one who steps forward, bringing the article of clothing under his nose. I watch Juniper sniff it, and his body starts to change back.

Juniper lays naked on the ground as his body shifts back. He is breathing heavily, and his body is shaking. He slowly sits up and grabs the clothing from Ruse. “I already miss her.”

My heart squeezes when he looks so longingly at the shirt. Renwicks face scrunches with distaste before he quickly clears it off his face. He stands and Ruse hands him some soft pants that I didn’t realize that he was carrying.

“Here’s some clothing.” Ruse makes sure to shove them in his arms. Juniper grabs them and quickly throws them on.

“You can leave Gamma.” Ren is looking at Ruse and when Ruse shakes his head.

“We are a pack, you ignorant a*****e.” Ren stomps forward and slams his hands against Ruse who has to catch himself.

“We will never be a pack.”

“Ren, stop.” Juniper moves closer to Ruse, and this is the first time I have ever seen Juniper stand up to Renwick. Seeing the pure fury on Ren I decide to step in.

“Ren, just leave it. We have to wait until Kale is back anyway before we can leave.” I turn and look at Juniper. “Which we are leaving when he gets back.” Juniper looks down and doesn’t say anything, but I should have known the Gamma would. I’m starting to doubt he is even a Gamma.

“So, you’re going to tear my mate apart because your head is too far up your asses to realize that she is amazing. I guess it always has been. She suffered when she was here and she cried for months over losing you four, now you have the opportunity to make it up and try again and be something more than the nightmare she had and instead you run away like the sad pups you’re being.”

Shock hits me as he spews this out. Ren is so mad he is turning redder every second he stands there. “How dare you talk to me like that. I am a f*****g Alpha.”

“My Alpha is Krisna, you sack of shit, and for her I will stand up to anyone willing to hurt her, whether she knows it or not. That is what a mate does.”

Ren swings his fist but it connects with Juniper, who stepped in front of Ruse. “WHAT THE F**K JUNIPER!” Ren shouts as the b***d flies from Juniper’s mouth. I move to pull Ren back from Juniper.

Juniper wipes the b***d from his mouth, and instead of being angry he looks sad. “I will follow you anywhere Ren but Ruse is right. We are going to hurt her whether we complete the bond or not and hurting the one mate she does have, well and Collin. We are not going to continue to do that to her.”

“I knew it.” Happiness spreads across Ruse’s face. “My brother will protect her as long as he can.”

Juniper looks at Ruse and the sad smile spreads across his face. “He is protecting her and he loves her. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at her.”

Gamma males are softer and more kind hearted than the rest of the pack, so having one in the pack is essential for keeping tempers down and love flowing through the bonds and the pack. Ruse reaches out to Juniper, bringing his forehead to his, and he lowers his voice, but we can still hear him but neither Ren or I interrupt them. This is something that even I know is just for them.

“You love her don’t you?” Ruse whispers to him.

“I do so much and I feel her in my heart like an imprint even though she hasn’t marked me.” Juniper sounds almost broken, and I know Renwick is reeling in his head. Juniper has always been our weakness which is why we knew he would be a Gamma male.

This is going to break Juniper, but he has made it his mission to be with us and keep us steady. Kale I’m not sure what he will come back as. Not as a Gamma but either a Beta like me or a Delta. We know Kale is not an Alpha.

“You can stay, Juniper.” Ruse says, I have to grab hold of Ren again to stop him from interrupting. His eyes meet mine and I shake my head back and forth, indicating that he leaves them alone. Gamma males are softer but together they are fierce and if we push them Ren may not like the outcome.

“I can’t.” He closes his eyes before I watch him look at Ruse again. “They need me more; I am the strength that keeps them moving forward.” His words hit harder than I expected. He really is the strength, which is why every pack has a Gamma, without them we would be ruined.

Ruse engulfs Juniper and I watch while he speaks softer into his ear calming him down. When they pull apart, Ruse looks at me. “You are going to hurt him, and I hope you’re ready for the fall out. Alpha and Betas and even a Delta can handle being away from their true mate, but Gamma’s are built to be with them. We are meant to nurture their heart and help them. You know Krisna is going to come back as an Alpha, so she is also the leader of the pack. Which means you’re going to destroy him.”

Ruse turns and walks away leaving us feeling dumbfounded. I look at Ren and Juniper and both are watching Ruse leave. What he said was true. “Come on, we should go relax a little.” I touch Rens shoulder, and he turns without saying another word and starts to lead the way.

Once back in our hut we sit. Not one of us says anything and when it becomes too much, I decide to break the silence.

“How is Kale?” Juniper looks up and smiles.

“He’s doing great, he is not happy about Krisna and Collin, but he’s making it work. He’s strong but I don’t think he is going to be a beta.”

“Why is that?” Curiosity takes over Ren as he leans forward waiting for the answer.

“I saw the fear in his eyes and smelled it on his skin when I shifted. The wolves had taken us to a swampy part that is infested with alligators, and I couldn’t do it and the flash of fear on Kale was enough. He still went through, which tells me he will be back here with the rest of the Deltas if there are any.”

“A lot of Gamma’s came back, and you were the last one, Juniper.” Which also means that he is one of the stronger Gamma’s like Ruse.

“That’s a good sign, which means I can be bordering on Delta personalities as well, like Ruse.”

“Yes.”

Sighing, Juniper looks at Renwick. “Do we really have to go? Krisna is incredible and she’s willing to give us a chance.” Placing his hands on his lips he gets lost in thought for a moment. “She kissed me Ren. If we try we can be happy.”

An even louder sigh comes from Ren. “Juniper, you know why we can’t stay here with her. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Just tell her Ren. Tell her what was said that day.”

“Damn it Juniper don’t you think I thought of that? It still doesn’t explain why we were such assholes to her does it? There was never a good reason for us to have done that.”

I see the tears forming in his eyes, and it is rare to see us cry, and as I watch him, I know his heart is breaking. “You’re right of course.”

“I’m sorry Juniper but the quicker you get used to this idea the easier it will be to leave her. I’m not worried about Kale, he won’t fall for her.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Juniper whispers but it is loud enough to hear him.

I lean in. “What do you mean?” I ask him.

“Meaning there is something about a mate bond I didn’t expect being with her that long, you’re able to resist because you are not near her, but it is like a short arrow into your heart when you’re near her, and there is something going on with her that is even more intoxicating. He won’t make it.”

Juniper walks away from us, and it leaves me thinking about what he said. He is right. The mating bond is so strong that it is nearly impossible to walk away from it and with Juniper already being attached to her, Kale is going to be with her even longer.

Krisna

We made it through the swamp, and it still feels like we’re lost somehow because we lost Juniper. The look of sheer terror in his face as he realized where we were headed let us know he was about to shift into his Gamma wolf.

When we were younger, I knew that Juniper was the softest of us all. He would be the one to calm us down and the one to make sure we didn’t fall apart. Every argument was handled when he intervened. Now I am stuck here with two males who do not have a Gamma to keep the calm.

“Hey beautiful, want to come take a walk? My wolf is just lying there.” Collin motions his hand to where his wolf would be and I look and mine is near where he pointed.

“I think they are lying with one another.” The smile on my face is genuine. I feel so incredibly happy when I’m with Collin.

“Let’s go clean ourselves up.” He whispers in my ear. “Then make ourselves dirty again.” A shot of pleasure courses through my body as I think about all the things Collin will do to me once I am naked near him.

“Agreed.” I grab his hand and we turn to walk away when Kale interrupts.

“I need to clean myself up, I will go with.” He walks ahead of us, and his face doesn’t betray anything.

“You can wait for Kale.” I say trying to keep the irritation from my voice, not wanting him to know he is getting to me, that his very existence right now I want to extinguish.

“Why? We’re all shifters here Kris.” He makes it a point to look both of us in the eyes and I can see the slight smirk cross his face. Out of spite and not wanting to let him have this silent win, I raise my head and march forward dragging Collin with me.

“You’re right. Let’s go clean up.” I know there is a little pond nearby. I can smell the water and with the area not being that big I don’t think Kale will want to be that close to me and Collin and will chicken out. The thought almost has me wanting to rub my hands together like a villain whose plan is about to come to fruition.

“We can be naughty still.” Collin whispers, startling me again. I turn my head and smile at him as we continue this weird race to the pond. Once the pond comes into the clearing Collin releases my hand and pushes past Kale and strips down.

His thick legs and firm a*s is all that I am staring at as he wades into the water. I look around a moment and see that this is a pretty covered area. I hear a huff and turn my head to see my wolf staring at me with what almost looks like amusement. She is enjoying this.

Collin swims the little circle before ducking under and coming back up wet head to toe, causing me to be wet from head to toe and not from water. He looks so sexy with the water dripping off his body, the mud running down and leaving him looking cleaner. He smirks at me when he sees me staring and I have to reach up to make sure I am not drooling and don’t have my mouth wide open.

I look at Kale who is staring at me. Not wanting him to join us I feel the best bet is to get naked first so looking back at Collin I take my clothing off trying to not hear the now heavier breathing of Kale and continue to focus on Collin.

Once I step into the water I move right to Collin and plant a k**s on him. As soon as I start to feel comfortable, I hear the noise of clothing dropping into a pile. Turning back to Kale I see the bottom half of his black running outfit is in a pile and the top is on the way off.

I take this second to look at his strong legs and muscled stomach and the way his arms bunch when he raises his arms. His tattoos shine in the sunlight making my whole-body heat with desire. Kale drops his black top on his pants and his eyes meet mine as he slowly removes the last bit of clothing hiding the most delicate part of him.

He doesn’t take his time, he just lowers his underwear and stands again tall and unashamed. He is a vision to look at like the rest of the men that are my mates. Without breaking eye contact he climbs into the water and ducks under getting himself wet fully.

I turn back to Collin who has an amused smile on his face. “What?” I whisper.

He leans forward bringing his body flush against mine. “When are you two going to admit the mating bond is there and let it happen.”

Collin surprises me with his statement. “I’m not giving in, if he wants me, he has to prove it.” I try my hardest not to cross my arms like a child. I will not be putting myself out there to some ungrateful male. Not this time.

“I get it love, but the bond is strong.” He k****s me before moving back and dipping under the water again. I try to put it out of my head, but his words keep filtering back to me. Kale washes himself but I see him scowling at me.

Turning my back to him, I focus on Collin.The difference between him and Ruse is their personalities. Collin has the more dominant personality, while Ruse is the sweetest man I have ever known. Both men are amazing and they love me unconditionally.

My other mates scare me. I know nothing about them, and I don’t know who they are anymore. All I have to go on is how they were as kids and what they did to me, the same to them as well. From Kale’s reaction he doesn’t want to get to know me. He is not happy about me being a mate to him.

Juniper though, I would have gone all the way with him. Shaking my head, I turn to face Collin and before I can say anything to him, something flies into my eyes and stings them.

“Duck under the water, Kris and try to get whatever it is out of your eye.” I hear Collin moving closer to me. I do what he says and I am down there for a moment, moving around. When I surface, I feel Collin in front of me and I take a moment to keep my eyes closed as I lean into him and rest my head on his chest.

His heart is beating rapidly, and I smile against him. “Your heart is beating really fast.” He doesn’t respond, so I reach up and wipe the water out of my eyes and to my horror I’m not against Collin, I am against Kale. He looks bewildered and the laughter behind me has me turning and scowling at Collin. “You could have said something.”

Collin smiles even deeper and shakes his head while I back away from Kale, not looking him in the eyes. From the corner of my eye as I get out, I watch Kale climbing from the water as well. He is trying and failing to cover his erect c**k.

Giving him his privacy, I turn and dress myself, putting back on my running clothes and wait for whatever my wolf wants to do. I have a feeling that she is going to lead me deeper and closer to the Redlands.

This journey is going to be long and right now I am unsure how it ends, which is the scary thing about the wolf run.