Can not feel warmth of setting sun on my fur. Nor the breeze or cool fall air. Not the scent of fall from fallen leaves or dried pine needles. Can not feel the hardness of cold soil under my paws.

I can't move from spot. Must wait for night time. Moon only has small sliver tonight. Will be very dark. I am at the edge of the forest. Can see pack house. Wolves are talking and laughing like nothing is wrong. Everything is wrong.

I am here, omega. Wait for me.

————————☆—————————

It was the creak of a heavy door that woke me. A set of quiet footsteps had me slowly push myself up onto my elbows. My body shivered violently, my throat feeling swollen and angry; like the time I had gotten a cold. It was hard to swallow and my voice would be horse, no doubt. Blinking my heavy eyelids a few time, the blurriness slowly left my vision. My cheek felt swollen, feeling the puffy cheekbone pressing on my lower eyelid; my eyelashes flirting with the tender skin every time I blinked.

"Hey, omega. You still alive in here?" The beta's voice a whisper but very loud within the quiet. I sat up fully, my eyes narrowing at a petite, pretty brunette whose face had gone ashen. She was holding a first aid kit, looking frozen.

"I thought you were kidding. I was expecting this to be one of your flirting ploys," the woman's voice growing higher with shock.

"Awe, Sarah, if you wanted to date me babe all you had to do was ask," the beta smiling cockily, bouncing his brows up and down.

"Shut it Grant, and open this cell," the woman snapped. The beta, Grant, pulled out a rusted key ring, fiddling with the lock of my cell, the door opening with a clang. I bared my teeth at the woman who came closer, the woman crouching.

"My name is Sarah. I'm a new healer to the Mountain Ridge pack. I took an oath to help anyone in need. I owed this lug a favor since it obviously sounded sketchy that he wanted me to follow him down into the rogue prison. Will you let me help you?"

I sniffed the air cautiously, the woman smelling of lemons with an undertone of medicinal herbs. There was no ill intent in her scent. I stopped baring my teeth, nodding. She felt around my throat, making me grimace. She gave me some pain pills along with a bottle of water, my parched throat stinging as I swallowed. I didn't even realize how thirsty I was until then.

"Here are some medicinal lozenges for your throat. It looks like you've already started healing which is seriously impressive considering the extent of your throat injury," the healer Sarah said, poking around my face. She applied an antiseptic to the still healing cuts, popping an ice pack to rest against my cheek. I shivered violently since I was already freezing in the cell, a warm blanket suddenly tossed over my shoulders from the beta. Sarah looked at my calf, cutting off the pant leg so she could wrap gauze around the wounds; I didn't know I cut myself that deeply.

"You said the Elder's plan was happening tonight?" Grant asked, leaning against the cell bars with his arms crossed.

"Your Elder is arrogant," my voice wheezing, but the cough drops helped, "said so before leaving me here."

"That I believe," Grant huffing out a breath, rolling his eyes.

"You don't like them either?" I asked.

"There's nothing really to like or not to like, until recently. They kept to the shadows and you never really hear about them. Everyone knows they're insanely strong and hard to kill," Grant said with a shrug.

"Yeah, well, Madam Elder gives me the chills," Sarah mumbled, shivering for emphasis.

"But now?"

"Stuff hasn't been making sense. Alpha's trust in them is at an all time low, a lot of gossip going around. Ethan said his dad, who's the alpha by the way, said he had a meeting with him and his brothers. To keep an eye out and to not get too close to the Elders," Grant said, "I mean, a random demon just sneaks into the pack to kill only Elder Simon?"

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"Well if the demon, or whatever, is threatening the pack, wouldn't it have killed as many pack members as possible when it had its chance, sneaking under the Elder's noses? Why just Elder Simon if a demon was the cause, or maybe it wasn't the cause at all," Grant scratching at his jaw. The action made my heart ache, thinking of my alpha doing the same thing. Sarah looked deep in thought, frowning.

"That makes way more sense then the ridiculous rumors going around," Sarah mumbled.

"Exactly," Grant uncrossing his arms so he could shove his hands into his pockets, "Ethan and I think someone is purposefully making rumors to panic everyone. The only thing no one understands is why. Why would the Elders do this? Why cause panic?"

Grant looked at me then, his brown eyes hard. Sarah kept her head down while she continued to inspect my body. My ribs were very tender as she prodded them.

"Why should I tell you anything?" I asked suspiciously.

"Quid pro quo. I already told you things about the pack and you aren't even a pack member. Even brought you a healer, as promised," Grant said, smiling sharply at me. Again, he did not scent of deceit. I kept quiet for a moment, taking in a small breath as to not aggravate my ribs.

"My alpha said he used to be apart of the Mountain Ridge pack," I started, Grant already interrupting me.

"I would have remembered a giant ass kid in the pack."

"How old are you?"

"How old is this alpha?" Grant shot back. I rolled my eyes at being interrupted again, but I couldn't blame the man for being suspicious.

"He's at least over 21 or 22. My alpha was taken by an Elder to a blind older beta as a child who had lost his mate," I said, Sarah looking at me aghast.

"And you don't think he lied to you?" Grant asked. My lip curled up at him.

"If you knew my alpha, you would know his words are true. He hasn't been apart of this pack and he doesn't want to be. He said a lot of she-wolf mothers and other children were mean to him. He has no reason to lie, nor did he ever want to come here."

I started to cough, Sarah giving me more water and cough drops.

"Shit," Grant growled, combing his fingers angrily through his hair, "So why did they take him away from the pack?"

"You felt a bit if his power before. He was born with it. The Elders feared him. A baby. My alpha," my voice shaking as my eyes watered. Sarah handed me a gauze square to dab at my eyes.

"I don't know how they did it. I guess no one would care. They made everyone think a little boy was a monster. He had no one. Started to believe he was a monster too. No one cared about him until he met the beta who became his grandfather," I sniffled, my frustrations coming out, "all I know is that it was the Elders and possibly two older beta she-wolves who helped them. I overheard them in the farmer's market."

"What were they saying?" Sarah asked before Grant could.

"About being guilty. That they shouldn't have listened to the Elders. About hurting someone."

"Did you get names by chance?" Grant asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Probably uncomfortable with my tears.

"Ehm, maybe Marge? Margaret? I know definitely one was named Lillian."

Sarah and Grant shared a dark look.

"Can I ask why you two looked at each other like that?" I asked, sipping my water.

"They're healers of the pack. Have been for a long time," Grant growled out.

"What time is it?" I asked suddenly. The light in the cells had slowly grown darker, telling me it was natural lighting coming from somewhere.

"Almost five o'clock, when most of the pack has dinner," Sarah said, "I'll try to sneak you some soup."

"Thank you," I said softly, Sarah standing and stretching. My body ached but it felt better.

"We need to go," Grant said, stepping through the open cell door.

"Oh, the blanket," I said, taking it off from around my shoulders, my body immediately starting to shake again. Sarah bit her lip, looking at Grant. The beta sighed loudly.

"Keep it. Screw those damn Elders. If they pissed off this alpha of yours, I doubt they'll even remember you're down here. There will be too much chaos if I let you out of here just yet though," Grant said, the beta still not looking happy.

"I figured," I said with a shrug, huddling myself within the heavy blanket. It wasn't much, but I was thankful. With one last look from the two, they were gone. I let my fingertips brush against my mating mark, feeling it throb. It was very warm to the touch, almost able to scent my alpha. I whimpered quietly, hoping, praying he was okay. That the Elders hadn't hurt him. I felt an anxiousness in my chest that didn't feel like my own. It had to be my alpha. Was he close by? Did he already know I was here?

I sipped delicately at my water, curling myself into a ball. I would need to heal if I was going to be strong enough to help him. I promised my alpha that I would never leave him alone.

————————☆—————————

I waited. Grandfather taught me to wait. I got very good at it. This, this would be like a hunt. I would not let anyone stop me from getting my omega. I smelled the cooking of food, before it slowly drifted away. I felt no hunger. The sun had set long ago, warrior wolves shifting about the grounds of the packhouse. There were more than when Grandfather and I came.

I saw a cloaked figure come and go within the shadows of the packhouse, my lip curling into a snarl. They smelled like the one who had been at the house before. That would make two Elders so far. Two different scents. How many were there? Did not matter, would tear through their throats.

I waited until there were stars. The moonlight dim from being a small sliver in the dark. I crawled, belly down through the grass. It was tall, until growing shorter once getting closer to the packhouse. I made sure my breathing was near silent. I could feel my eye throbbing in my head. I was just on the edge of the grass, my ears pulling back as my anger grew in my chest. I could not scent omega. Where was he? My shoulders bunched, my hind legs twitching.

I would search every corner for omega. He made my heart beat. Without him, I did not want it to beat anymore. I already missed his voice. His touch. Pretty smile. Pretty eyes. The sweet words and sweet scent. Elders always found a way to make me hurt. My vision went red, my blood boiling over. Where was my omega!? I bound from within the grass, warrior wolves snapping their heads to my direction. Two leapt on me, easily shaking them off. I howled, desperate and long and loud, wanting my omega to hear. Wanting him to know I was coming.

Alphas and betas were jumping and biting, but I was larger and faster. Grandfather taught me to fight. There were only two I wanted to kill. They dare take omega from me! I snarled darkly, wolves surrounding me in a circle. Several jumped at me, swatting them away easily. I snapped and bit when they got too close. I was trying to get closer to the pack house, but they were tightening their circle as much as they dared. I let out a roar, loud and strong, hearing cries in the packhouse. The warriors had moved much farther from me, wary. Their scent of fear and shock going through my muzzle. I sniffed the air, my body feeling like winter ice. The scents from the town were here! They smelled like me.

A large man came walking through, three males guarding around him. They all had black hair like me! I could see the gold in their eyes, like me. Omega said it was a type of yellow color. Not common. Their scents were all alphas. Warrior wolves slowly parted for the four men. The oldest alpha, the alpha of the pack, walked closer to me. His bond color was a dark gold. Never seen it that color before. He held up his hand, the ones smelling similar to him wanting to stand with him, but staying back.

"Who are you? Why have you come?" The man asked. His own eyes started to glow like mine.

I kept my lip curled, staying crouched and ready to fight. I snarled darkly, seeing his own lip curl along with everyone else's.

"Answer me! You are on my lands. Invading my pack. Are you the one who killed Elder Simon?"

The man's scent had something squeeze in my chest. I did not understand who Elder Simon was. Pack alpha scented strong, but the oldest black-haired man next to him smelled stronger. I slowly calmed down, my eye no longer throbbing. They did not smell of omega. Did not smell like Elders. The older alpha, seeing me calm down, had his own eye no longer blazing. I sniffed the air cautiously. He smelled a lot like me! Why only these four? Elders said it was bad to have black hair. Bad to have gold eyes. I did not understand. The man and the three younger black haired wolves sniffed the air like I had done.

"Dad, that's the scent!" The youngest whispered. Which was rather pointless since everyone could hear him just fine. The three younger men were looking at me curiously.

"Do I, know you?" The older alpha asked cautiously, taking a step closer.

"Here! You see!" an older woman with silver eyes screamed, running from the shadows along with another in a pitch colored cloak.

"What is this thing!? Why do you not attack you fools!?" The woman screamed. My eyes narrowed, her scent reminding me of the one who hurt Grandfather. The one who always came to the house. The other scented of the one who dropped me off to Grandfather.

I roared angrily at her, my body shaking from the amount of boiling hatred rolling from my scent. Half the wolves backed away from me, including the ones with black hair. The older woman's eyes were filled with hatred, until understanding flitted through her silver eyes. Her mouth had dropped.

"You!? It is impossible!" The woman's eyes crazed, spittle flying, "you were meant to die! Do you not understand that!? Why do you deserve such power!?"

The two Elders suddenly shifted, leaping at me. Warrior wolves lunged to the side. Suddenly, I was moving. Fast. Their claws shredded my side, but I bit and lunged and threw their bodies from me. Their skin was hard. Their fur sharp. My teeth were sharper. The male snarled, sliding on the ground to bite my leg. I leaped over him, biting into his neck and snapping with all my strength. My tongue was heavy with the Elder's blood, the female looking at me in shock. I tossed the male Elder to the side, his unmoving body landing in the grass with a heavy thump.

The female Elder snarled nastily at me, circling me. My side was cut to ribbons, feeling blood pool onto the ground, making the pads of my paws sink into the dirt. She was fast. She barreled into me as we rolled onto the ground. Teeth and claws, vicious fighting. I saw her claw come up to cut into my good eye, moving my face as she cut into my already blind eye. I threw here off of me with a howl, pain lancing through my face. I could see wolves only watching us fight, no one coming to help the Elder. No other wolves coming to help her fight me off.

She had moved again, half her own face bleeding. She moved to attack my injured side. Dirt suddenly filled my vision, blinding me completely.

————————☆—————————

"Omega! Holy shit, we need you! Like now!"

My body jolted at the loud echoing within the pitch dark cells. I shakily tried to stand, when the clang of my cell door swung open. I was suddenly lifted into a pair of arms, looking stunned at the beta from before. The healer, Sarah, was right on his tail. We headed up a few flights of stairs, my eyes blinking at the moonlight. I breathed in the fall air, feeling my eyes get tired.

"Hey!"

The beta shook me, making me clamp my teeth together at the flare of pain from my ribs.

"Your alpha is here! Holy shit, he's fighting the Elders! I've never seen anything like it!" The beta yelled. I felt my breath hitch, feeling my mate mark suddenly flare. My eyes watered, my heart yearning for my mate. I softly crooned, Sarah and Grant nearly losing their footing from the sound I made. Grant picked up his pace. I saw a crowd of warrior wolves unmoving as we passed by a large pack house. I saw children peeking through windows along with she-wolves. I heard nasty snarls, gasping at a wall of power suddenly hitting my body. Grant had stumbled, moving like he was suddenly in molasses. Sarah had fallen to her knees. Struggling to stand. It smelled like my alpha.

Alpha was pissed.

It was killing intent that had frozen the warriors in place. I struggled out of the beta's arms, the man building up a sweat as he tried to force his body to move from its sluggish pace. I hurried past the unmoving warriors, my eyes widening as my mouth dropped. My alpha's eye looked like it was a gold flame that moved in the dark. His black fur blending into the night. My lip curled at the female Elder that had taken me before. She was bleeding from several nasty wounds, my heart pounding at seeing pieces of my mate's side hanging from him. Bile crawled in my throat, tears pricking at my eyes. They were suddenly moving so fast that it was hard to follow with my eyes. Alpha howled in pain, seeing a cloud of dirt had flown up, blinding my alpha entirely.

I saw the female Elder lick her chops, the evil miasma coming from her making my core shake. I knew she was going to take this chance to kill my alpha. I would not let her. Before I knew it, I shifted painfully into my wolf. I bolted through the grass, knowing her eyes were not on me. I felt my feet pound into the earth, matching the pounding in my chest. She would not hurt my alpha. She would never hurt my alpha again.

Alpha was desperately pawing at his good eye, the Elder's hind legs bounding to spring. I pushed my legs harder, leaping. I landed on her back, biting straight into the back of her neck. I felt my teeth puncture like tiny pricks into her hard skin. I held on desperately as she bucked me to get me off of her back. I would not let go. Not if I still had a piece of her flesh between my teeth. My jaw burned from the shooting pain, trying to dig my claws into her back. Trying to rip what I could.

A roar that had the very ground shake boomed through the night air, feeling my alpha's maw brush against my own. His teeth sank into her neck as I was harshly thrown from her back, tumbling across the ground. I scrambled onto my legs, trying to run limply with the wound on my leg reopening. My ribs screaming at me to stop moving, even with the adrenaline coursing through my veins. With a shrieking howl, the female Elder was tossed by her throat onto the ground. Her chest was heaving as she bled from her throat, her eyes looking wild-eyed, though she lay unmoving.

After several long minutes, it felt like I could breathe in the air again. Cool air whipped at my fur. The silence on the pack grounds was deafening. I stumbled my way to my alpha, who was blinking his good eye hard, limping heavily on one side as he dragged his paws towards my direction. I shifted into my human form, desperate to hold him in my arms, hugging his head against my chest. I felt alpha bury his face against my neck, my tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Alpha!" I choked, sobbing into the fur of his neck. Alpha whimpered low, seeming to drag me against his chest with his huge paw.