The Alpha Twins Rejection
Chapter Five - Zac

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest as we sprinted swiftly through the dense forest, my mind trying to process a million anxious thoughts at once. My father and I had come across the mutilated bodies of our three guards a few kilometres west of the guard hut. Their throats had been viciously slashed out, and their bloodied bodies tore limb from limb. The scene was an absolute blood bath that sent chills down my spine at the thought of Ashley being out there alone. We were horrified when she informed us via mind link that it was Alpha Dante. For the second time in my life, I was terrified for Ashley and felt helpless all over again. We should never have split up. The stories of the Alpha being deranged and cruel were not just fairytales, after all. My father had fought Alpha Dante once before when he had rescued Ashley from his clutches years ago. We both knew that he fought savagely with unrivalled, feral brute force, having zero mercy for anyone who got in his way.

The landscape quickly became a blur as we frantically darted in and out of trees, jumping logs and small puddles in our way. “There, up ahead”, I yelled to my father through the mind link, both of us digging our claws into the forest floor to replace more purchase. “I can scent blood”, Callan howled furiously inside me. He was vibrating with murderous rage; it was rolling off him in crashing waves. After seeing our men, we knew we had to get to Ashley as soon as possible. I had tried desperately to reach out to her but kept coming up blank. I didn’t know whether she could hear me or not, and it spurred me on faster still. I mind linked Alpha Miller, hurriedly filling him in on the unfolding situation. He was furious and barely able to control his rage at the mention of Alpha Dante but assured me he would be here with more men within minutes. I felt like a fucking failure. Once again, I had failed to protect Ashley. “I know what you are thinking, Zac”, dad said through the open link. “Don’t. You get to Ashley. I will take care of Alpha Dante,” he said ruefully as his wolf lengthened their stride, urgently pushing to their limits.

Following suit, I was at Ashley’s side in no time. Coming to a skidding halt beside her bloody and disfigured body, I wasted no time shifting back to my human form. I winched in agony as I gazed upon her seemingly lifeless body twisted into the foetal position in the dirt. It was almost too much to bear. Leaning down, I franticly felt for a pulse letting out a small sigh as I felt a weak but steady thrum beneath my fingers. Ashley was unconscious and judging by the crimson stain spreading out around her body, she had already lost a lot of blood. A war waged inside me. Callan was furiously trying to push his way forward, wanting to give chase and ruthlessly destroy the man that had done this to Ashley. He wanted to snuff out Alpha Dante’s life. Standing my ground, I cautioned Callan to behave so that we could save her life. Ashley was still losing a lot of blood. After a few moments, he saw reason and realised I was right. He sat down with a heavy thud; anxiety etched on his face.

Gently turning Ashley over, I sucked in a ragged breath of air through gritted teeth. There was a handle of a dagger protruding from a gaping hole in Ashley’s abdomen. Gripping it tightly with both hands, I pulled it out gently. I knew it would hurt like hell and could cause more damage, but being silver, it could kill her the longer it was inside her body. The silver would not allow Ashley to use her wolf shifter power of healing either, with Callie surprised by it. Ashley’s stunning lilac eyes fluttered open just as the blade was almost out. The pain-filled look pierced my soul as she uttered an agonising scream before succumbing to the darkness. Rapidly covering the wound with my large hand, trying to stem the blood flowing freely from her injury, I picked Ashley up as best I could with my other hand. Trying to juggle both tasks before setting out at a sprint, running as quickly as I could towards the pack doctor’s clinic.

In other circumstances, I would have laughed at the thought of anyone seeing me running naked through the forest carrying a naked, unconscious woman in my arms. Not today, though. Today was deadly serious, and my speed was going to be the difference between life and death, I was sure. “Hang in there, Ashley,” I said through clenched teeth, darting around large pine trees and ducking under low hanging branches. “I can’t lose you,” I whispered, hoping deep down that Ashley could hear my words. In no time, I could hear voices rapidly approaching us. I let out a low howl so that they could determine our location more quickly. As the trees thinned, I came face to face with Alpha Miller and a dozen Bloodmoon warriors. Alpha Miller stepped forward to take Ashley from my arms; instinctively, I let out a low warning growl. Alpha Millers’ eyes widened slightly. His nostrils flared at the apparent challenge. “Give her to me, Zac”, he growled impatiently. The warriors behind him stiffened in nervous anticipation of an altercation. As much as I wanted to be the one to take care of Ashley, I knew better than to challenge her father, the Alpha of our pack, so I begrudgingly shifted her lifeless body into his waiting arms as he issued orders for the rest of us to help my father replace and detain Alpha Dante. Taking one last look at Ashley lying limp in her father’s arms, I sent a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess to keep her alive before taking off along with the rest of the warriors, itching to get a chance at killing Alpha Dante for what he had done.

Callan rapidly came forward with a burst of uncontrollable fury. He was foaming at the mouth with anticipation of catching up to Alpha Dante and ripping him to pieces, racing through the vast forest with the other warriors hot on my heels. Callan put his snout close to the ground so that he could pick up the scent of my father. It would be easier to track them that way. “Dad, have you got a location on Alpha Dante yet,” I said desperately through the mind link. “I can see him just up ahead”, his voice growled back. “Good, I will be there as soon as possible,” I replied with determination. Depressing thoughts raced through my mind; I didn’t think I could live without Ashley. She had to be ok. Life wouldn’t be worth living without her in it. I knew our territory like the back of my hand and knew that a large ravine was coming up in a couple of kilometres. I desperately wanted to catch Alpha Dante before he reached it. I could hear the faint footfalls of my father’s wolf up ahead; we must be getting closer.

Fifteen minutes later the warriors and I suddenly came to a vast, grassed area. I could see my father up ahead through the clearing, hot on the heels of Alpha Dante’s wolf, snarling and viciously snapping at his haunches. Judging by the tufts of fur missing on both wolves, the heavy blood splattering on their coats, they had already had an altercation. The ravine was not far ahead and they didn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down. I didn’t know if it was because they didn’t see it or just didn’t care. Alpha Dante appeared hell-bent on escaping our clutches, knowing that his capture would sign his death warrant and end his tyrannical reign as Alpha of the Midnight Pack. My father’s large wolf lunged at Alpha Dante’s with a swift burst of speed at the very last possible second, seizing him roughly by a back leg. He clamped his razor-sharp teeth down with all his might, shaking the other Alpha like a rag doll in his mouth. Unfortunately, the momentum of the attack kept them going, and I could only stare in absolute horror as they both tumbled over the edge of the ravine. Within seconds the rest of us hurriedly shifted back into our human forms, racing franticly towards the border of the cliff face.

“There”, shouted one of the warriors beside me as he nimbly jumped over the side, sliding with rocks and debris as he came to a stop beside my father’s wolf. Hastily making my way down the side, trying to avoid causing a giant landslide, I helped the warrior carry my father back up to the safety of the grass clearing. Looking him over, I was relieved to see that he only had suffered superficial wounds and a concussion from the fall that would thankfully heal fast thanks to his wolf. We sent the rest of the Bloodmoon warriors down as far as they could to scout for Alpha Dante, but he was nowhere to be seen. He was either buried alive under rubble or had somehow managed to escape. Either way, we could not replace a single trace of him anywhere. It was like he simply disappeared. We were confident that he could not get far after sustaining severe damage to his back legs from my father’s attack, so after an hour or so of searching, we decided to give up and get my father back to the pack doctor as quickly as possible, much to his disdain and protests. I would send out more warriors into the back part of our territory, increasing our patrols to continue searching for any trace of Alpha Dante. I wouldn’t sleep until we recovered his body.

On the way back through the forest, I scanned the area for a tree that had our pack symbol, which let us know that there was emergency clothing stashed within it. Finding it, I quickly pulled on a pair of sweatpants and then continued on my way. Entering the pack doctors’ practice, the scent of Ashley’s sweet smell of vanilla engulfed me, making Callan howl inside me with nervous anticipation. Since Alpha Dante’s vile attack on Ashley, he hadn’t let up with his incessant pacing and continuous howls of anguished pain. I understood where he was coming from but had tried to tell him gently numerous times that I wouldn’t be able to function properly if he gave me a splitting headache in the meantime. But of course, he blatantly ignored my imploring. He continued relentlessly until we entered a brightly lit room and noticed Ashley hooked up to numerous machines, keeping her alive while her body struggled to heal after being cruelly butchered with the silver dagger. Looking around the room, I saw both the Alpha and Luna by her side, her mother’s attractive face streaked with tears. As soon as Luna Miller noticed me, she let go of her daughter’s limp hand and rushed over, enveloping me in a bear hug, sobs racking her body. I couldn’t help the slight sob that left my lips, all the pent-up emotion trying desperately to escape. I hastily glanced towards the Alpha, wanting to see if he had noticed it. If he did, he didn’t let on, thankfully. When the Luna finally let go of me, I paced solemnly over to Ashley’s side, trying to stop tears that threatened to fall at any second. God, I was a mess.

“Is she going to be, ok?” I asked quietly as I grasped Ashley’s hand in mine, stroking my thumb over it gently. “The Doctor said that she would have bled out if we had gotten her here any later. Zac, we can’t thank you enough for saving her life,” the Alpha said gravely. “She is our world”, he continued grimly, a lone tear rolling down his cheek as he looked lovingly at his daughter. “Mine too,” I replied hoarsely, my throat thick with emotion”. “The silver blade did a lot of damage, but because she is so fit and strong, the Doctor believes she will heal in no time, thank the Goddess”, the Luna chimed in with a slight smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. I took a long shuddering breath at her words and let out an audible sigh, not caring who heard this time. Ashley was going to be ok. “Zac, I know you don’t want to leave Ashley’s side, but we still have the matter of escorting the Alphas from River Run Pack into our territory tonight”, Alpha Miller spoke from beside me, a note of apology in his voice. I wanted desperately to protest; I didn’t want to leave Ashley’s side, but Alpha Miller was right. I wanted nothing more than to stay in this room, to be here for her when she woke, but then I remembered that my father was also somewhere in the hospital, and I needed to check in on him too. I knew Ashley’s parents wouldn’t go anywhere while their daughter needed them, which helped me with my turmoil, so instead, I replied with a tight nod of my head. Looking at my watch, I had several hours until I had to leave, so I would make myself comfortable for the meanwhile. “Do you mind if I stay awhile?” I tentatively asked. “We wouldn’t have it any other way, Zac, you know that”, Luna Miller replied with a tight smile, worry and hurt flashing across her face as she stared sadly at me before focusing on her daughter, lying unconcise in the hospital bed.

Rising slowly from the chair I had occupied for the last several hours, I stretched my muscles as they had gone stiff from sitting down for far too long. It was around four pm, so grudgingly, I leaned over Ashley and gently kissed her forehead. “I will be back as soon as possible, my love”, I whispered into her ear, praying that she could hear me. I reluctantly left the pack hospital and headed back to the packhouse. I would barely have time to have a much-needed shower, but we needed to make a good impression on the River Run Pack if we wanted to form any sort of lasting alliance with them, so I hurried through the motions of becoming presentable. There was no way that I would show up as an escort, still covered in dirt with leaves and twigs in my hair. Alpha Miller warned me to be on my best behaviour no matter what I thought of the new Alphas, as he was appreciative that they were coming early to help with security before the Bloodmoon Ball. I didn’t know why he had felt the need to warn me. I had never been anything but respectful to everyone our pack encountered. His words had me trying to read between the lines, but I kept coming up blank. Alpha Miller had even been grateful that his Betas, Ashley and my father, were in the hospital. His flippant comments had me starching my head. I was under no circumstances to speak about what had occurred today with them, as if I would. I was just thankful that I didn’t have to talk to them. I was simply to escort them from our territory lines to the packhouse. Easy peasy. Alpha Miller ensured me that he would personally fill them in about today’s events at dinner tonight. I grabbed a quick bite to eat from the kitchen as I made my way out to the black hummer that waited for me in the driveway. Looking longingly towards the hospital one last time, I closed the door sharply behind me and then started the engine, stepping on the gas with purpose. I didn’t want to be away from Ashley for too long and would make the trip as quickly as possible. Our lands were vast, but I hoped to be back beside Ashley within 4-5 hours.

Before I left, I had made the Luna promise to let me know as soon as possible if Ashley’s condition got any worse. As I drove towards the River Run Alpha’s, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach, churning like acid. What if I was escorting Ashley’s mate onto our territory? The thought had me gripping the steering wheel tightly in both fists. Callan snarled in response to my errant thoughts. “It is a possibility, Callan”, I said solemnly. “River Run Pack has never attended a Bloodmoon Ball before, and it could be why Ashley hasn’t found her mate yet” I gritted my teeth and prepared for the onslaught of protests and whining from Callan. This would be one hell of a long night now that I had opened that can of worms.