Alpha Rising: Her Revenge

1: The Perimeter

Kendria

I woke with a start, clammy and covered in sweat. I didn't often have nightmares about the massacre of my family and pack anymore, but occasionally the faces of my father and brothers and countless other dead pack members haunted my dreams.

Pushing it from my mind, I slipped out from under my warm comforter and padded across the woven rug in my room to my closet, grabbing a pair of loose sweatpants and a tank top. My locket, the only thing left from my old life, glinted permanently against my neck. After I dressed, I looked out the window of the second story of the lodge. A thick layer of fresh snow blanketed the ground, and more was coming down in merry fat flakes. It would be a chilly dash to the woods before I could shift into my wolf, Daria. I could feel her excitement at the prospect of a morning patrol run. I finger combed my hair in the mirror, to get out some snarls but left it down so it wouldn't be a hassle shifting.

Daria came forth three and a half years ago, on my sixteenth birthday. I was more than ready for my wolf spirit to awaken. We lived a difficult life, and having my wolf would allowed me to be much more useful than before. Daria was mostly black, like my dad and brother Kade hade been, but she had silver markings around her eyes, paws, and tail. Her eyes were green too, but so much lighter than mine they almost looked silver, too. She and I had developed a very symbiotic relationship, and I spent a lot of time in my wolf form and letting her take control of our body. I never did understand why so many other werewolves pushed their wolf to the back of their mind all the time. They always seemed to argue. Daria and I agreed on just about everything, and understood when each of us should be in control.

My life changed drastically after my wolf came forth. By that time, it had already been nearly four years since our escape from our old pack lands into the mountains. We traveled on foot for three days almost nonstop with the other surviving women and children, until we stopped at a system of caves partway up the southern slope of the tallest peak, Mount Haven. It was there, partially protected from the harsh northern winds, that we built our new wintery home. It was tough going at first. We had nothing but the clothes on our backs, which were no match to the snow that stuck around over half the year on the mountain. Even our wolf blood could only keep us so warm. Life was all about our daily struggle for survival, with my mom Luna Adina and the other she-wolves working themselves to the bone to hunt food enough to feed us all and dry out firewood to use in the cold, damp caves. All I could do to help was watch the pups while the adults were searching for sustenance and keep the fires going. The other eight kids were all younger than me, although Shasta and Harlie were only a year or so behind me. The three of us took charge the best we could, but it never felt like enough.

Life improved a little over the next four years, but not by much. We didn't need to worry about where our next meal was coming from, but there was little joy and almost no rest for anyone as we worked to build up the area around the caves into a real home, knowing we couldn't go back to our old lands. We learned through news from the odd wolf traveling to the east from the northwest shore that Silas had installed himself as the alpha on our lands, and changed the name from Blue Hills to the Blood Red pack. Made up of mostly rogues, there were a few traitorous Blue Hills wolves that willing joined and some oppressed women and children as well. It made me sick to my stomach.

After Daria came to me, we were in agreement that we had to do something to help. It started with helping hunt and run patrols, but as the kids grew older and more self-sufficient, I grew restless. I couldn't forget the stories of those left behind in what was now the Blood Red pack. So I, unbeknownst to my mom, snuck out of our home base and took the day-and-a-half trek to our old lands. Traveling alone with no pups on my back, the trip took half as long as it did all those years ago. Since I didn't yet have my wolf form when the massacre took place, it was easier to sneak in without being scented as a ranked member from the old pack. I managed to find some of the she-wolves being held against their will, but they were too frightened to come with me, and I went home in defeat and got a severe yelling at from my mom.

However, several weeks later, a mother and her pup showed up from our old pack out of the blue. A young male wolf came soon after, followed by another lone she-wolf. Word had quietly gotten around to wolves that were trapped in the Blood Red pack about our refuge on Mount Haven, and they were sneaking stealthily away in the night and coming to us for help.

We took them all in, and I oversaw the expansion of our territory. Our cave system shelter grew to include cabins, then the lodge. We were now fifty-seven strong and well established in the area, gathering supplies from the forest and making trade with humans in nearby mountain towns in exchange for what we couldn't find or make ourselves. We ended up with a tidy profit, too.

Now, our lodge had a fresh new second story for living space so we could use the first floor more for gatherings, dining, and hosting. It was more like a real packhouse. My mom and I, Harlie and her mother Tamara, and Shasta all lived in the upper rooms. The rest lived in family cabins, while the cave system was where a good portion of our supplies were stored. I was really proud of all we'd accomplished over the years, from basically nothing.

I stopped reminiscing and padded down the hall, pausing to knock quietly on my mom's door. I heard her stir with my wolf hearing, but she didn't invite me in. I cracked the door open anyway and poked my head in. She was curled up under the covers, facing away from me. "I'm going out for a perimeter run, mama," I said softly to her prone form. I barely saw her incline her head in confirmation she heard me. "Love you," I whispered as I eased the door shut again, letting out a breath.

My mom had been so strong through the loss of her mate and sons, the rest of our family. She led us here and helped us get organized so we could survive. Over time though, her strength diminished, and now that I had stepped up in so many ways, she seemed to be collapsing in on herself. Some days she never got out of bed at all. I worried about her more than she knew. Honestly, I was afraid she might waste away completely, too heartbroken to carry on. It was an all too common occurrence for those who lost their mates.

Suddenly, I just had to get out of there. I dashed down the stairs, my locket tapping against my chest. Racing across the small clearing at the back of the house, I ducked behind a large oak tree and started stripping quickly. I tucked my clothes and locket in a little watertight pack and securely tied it around my leg. Then I quickly shifted into my wolf and pulled back a little, letting Daria come forward.

Ah, what a beautiful morning, Daria said in our mind as she shook out our coat and flexed our paws in the snow.

It really is, I said. And it was. The morning sun was just kissing the treetops, bathing the uppermost branches in a golden glow. There was a hush on the mountain from all the snow, so quiet you could hear the gentle hiss of snowflakes landing in the drifts.

As we started running to the perimeter, I linked the night patrol Peter to tell him we were taking over for the morning shift, and could feel his glad exhaustion as he started to head back to his cabin. He was cast out as a rogue from a pack in the south, but it was because his mate was someone that pack's Beta wanted to claim for themselves, so they wrongfully framed him for a crime he didn't commit to get rid of him. Peter was a quiet, steadfast soul full of a bone deep sadness, but he seemed to be a little happier since we took him in.

Our rag-tag pack now had fifty-seven wolves, just over the fifty required for a legitimate pack. We had run under the direction of my mom as a Luna for awhile, and now me, but we still didn't have official Alpha, Beta, and Gamma roles. This was something we were hoping to change this year for many reasons. Being recognized as an official pack would mean a lot of good things for us. We would be able to mind-link one another, something that would save us from having to always be in our human forms to communicate clearly. The boundaries of our land would be globally recognized and respected, we would get to send delegations to the yearly Gathering that packs took turns hosting around the globe, and would even be able to host it ourselves sometime in the distant future. That would mean we could make trade agreements with other packs and give our wolves a better chance at finding their mates when they were of age. As it is, there are hardly any mated pairs in our pack due to the circumstances of our initial formation and the types of additional members we took in.

Daria and I finally reached the northern boundary of our land and turned right to start our first full circle. We always started with a quick first lap to take stock of anything changed or suspicious, then continued at a slower pace, spending more time investigating.

As we ran, I thought about the reasons we might not want to legitimize. If I was honest with myself, there was really only one reason.

It's a terrible reason, Daria cut in, knowing my thoughts.

It is not. You know what the consequences could be. I shot back at her. Lately we'd started butting heads a little on this issue, and it made me uneasy. I wasn't used to being out of sync with her.

The fact of the matter was, I was scared that the process of legitimizing our pack could lead me to my mate. Don't get me wrong, I wanted a mate. But as an alpha's daughter, it's more than likely my mate will be a ranked member of another pack. While that may not be a bad thing in and of itself, I knew I was needed here. I'd become the leader of the pack, and if we became official, I would be the pack's Alpha. It was unusual to have a female Alpha, or any female ranked members at that, but there were several cases in the last couple of generations where a female took over as the only child of the previous Alpha. That was fairly close to what was happening here. I had Alpha blood running through my veins, and knew what it took to lead. Everyone in our pack looked to me for guidance and leadership, so legitimization would just be me taking my rightful place.

But what would happen if my mate wanted me to abandon this pack to join theirs? There was no way. I couldn't abandon my people, this place. Not after everything we've been through together.

You won't abandon them, Daria reasoned. No matter what happens, we'll make sure they're taken care of. You have to get over yourself. It's time to take the next step, after so many years building our home.

Daria's words gave me some small comfort, but I was still nervous. But I knew deep down that legitimization was the best thing for our pack. The benefits far outweighed the risks, and I knew I'd do my best to make sure my people were provided for if I found my mate in another pack.

Before I knew it, we'd run around the perimeter three times along the path we'd worn into the landscape over time. Daria took over the patrol duties, knowing I was lost in thought. I often used our runs of the perimeter to think through pack business like maintainability and expansion, and she always let me without complaint, offering her opinion when I needed it. She was a great wolf that way.

We turned and started running across the southern part of our pack lands. Suddenly, we smelled something different in the air. Another wolf! After a split second, I suddenly recognized the scent. It's Naomi, I said to Daria.

We stopped and stood at attention as Naomi came into view, a small russet wolf with black toes. She was one of the original she-wolves that escaped with us, and often took to traveling to pick up news and bring it back to our more remote location. As we weren't yet a recognized pack, it was one of the only ways we could pick up on pack news from around the country. Once she skidded to a stop, we both shifted and quickly dressed to protect ourselves against the cold.

"I found out where the next Gathering is," Naomi huffed, out of breath from her run up the mountain face.

"Really? Where is it?" I asked, crossing my arms against the cold. I'd sent her out only three days ago and wasn't expecting her back so soon. If I'd known I would have packed a sweatshirt instead of a tank top this morning.

"You're not going to like it."

"Just tell me," I said with impatience. It was probably clear across the country. No matter how inconvenient though, we had decided this was our year to go for it, so I resigned myself for a long trip. However, I was not prepared for what came out of Naomi's mouth.

"Harvest Moon," she said, cringing a little as she gauged my reaction. I stiffened. Daria raised her hackles in our shared mind. Harvest Moon, the useless pack that never sent the help we so desperately needed during Silas's takeover? Not one part of me wanted to go there. Our old western neighbors and now our neighbors to the south, we largely avoided them since they considered us little better than rogues. When they did cross my mind, I always got very angry. If they had helped us, we may have been able salvage what was left of our pack and keep our lands instead of being forced to flee.

"Harvest Moon," I repeated flatly, once I was able to speak. Naomi nodded, biting her lip.

I sighed. It was unavoidable. "Well, there's no way around it. We'll have to go."