Savior of the Wolves

Aiden's POV

As I pushed open one of the double doors, every head turned in my direction as though I had finally arrived.

My father looked at me and turned to his Zeta, David, “Tell us what you know.”

“Sean and Anthony were patrolling the east end of the compound, nearest the highway, when they heard a scream.”

My heart dropped. I froze as anger began to fill every inch of me.

“Do they know any more?” My father asked with impatience.

“We just linked up. It’s been about three minutes. As per your request, they are keeping their distance until you advise.”

“Good,” Ethan confirmed. “Send a detail,” he paused, thinking, “of at least twenty.”

The room grew silent.

The patrol details were our strongest wolves. Of course, we’re all taught to patrol, but nothing like a detail. They were the best and that’s all they did. Anyone in this room could easily investigate a yell in the woods. Typically it was a lost hiker, a stranded motorist who took a wrong turn, but never anything that warranted the detail.

The group wasn’t the only one looking curiously at my dad.

So was I.

Because he was staring at me.

“Aidan. Go with them,” he said calmly.

“Go…” I began to repeat his phrase as a question but instinctively stopped. A request from an Alpha was obeyed. I was only confused because he hasn’t let me patrol away from the main house in years.

Not once.

“Yes Sir,” I replied, my eyebrows furrowed tightly.

Many of the details were already gathered in the room so I quickly followed them out, leaving the others to continue the discussions with my father.

The scene outside of the mansion looked like a military maneuver. Twenty men were standing ready for instructions.

The group had been linking during the meeting. They knew what was to happen the instant it was conveyed. The second the Alpha gave the order to his Zeta.

So there was no catching them up.

They were ready.

The link with the detail was opened to me and I listened to our Zeta, Ron, give further instructions to everyone staying behind to protect the main grounds and the Alpha family. He remained silent, standing tall and perfectly still while everyone looked at him to finish his instructions. Then suddenly, out loud, he yelled, “We go in as wolves.”

His wolf began to growl through his last word and suddenly, everyone around him didn’t hesitate. The men began shifting as they ran to follow him.

“Shit!” I growled as I could feel my wolf nearly clawing to get out. He was hungry and on high alert. That was dangerous. I had been holding him back all day. He was agitated for some reason.

I turned to follow the group and I just let go. I let go of my control and my wolf howled louder than I ever remembered howling before.

He took us into a dizzying run.

“Slow down,” I demanded.

My wolf wasn’t listening. I could feel the urgency. He could sense something. In my wolf form, the animal overpowered my emotions and thinking. It could be hard to connect to my calmer human side. I was still fairly new at this.

“Be on alert. Something is off. Do you feel it?” Ron asked through the link.

Confirmations were flooding into my thoughts as every wolf responded that they felt it also.

I did too.

My wolf began shaking his head as though he were shaking cobwebs from his head…or thoughts…or something else. He was stretching as he passed one wolf after another. Bending his neck back and forth…getting ready.

We surveyed the landscape, our ears were listening, following a sound.

“What is that?” I asked in the link.

“Pull back, Aiden.” Ron urged.

Unfortunately, my wolf didn’t respond to a command from a delta. Not even the highest ranking of them. We continued forward, gaining speed by the second.

We raced through the woods in half the time that our human forms could have. My wolf leapt over obstacles as though they weren’t there. He had been confined too long. He was getting his built-up energy out.

“Aiden,” Ron howled.

My wolf had passed every other wolf that had started with a lead. Now, we were leaving them behind.

“We have to slow down. We are safer as a pack. I feel it too. We’ll get there. But with the pack. Slow down!” I argued with myself, with my wolf.

I felt a defiant growl escape my lips as my wolf looked back at the others and slowed down.

“What is that, Ron? I can barely maintain control.”

“A disturbance. I sense something.”

“Sense something?” I said sarcastically.

It was like a roar inside of my head. I knew where to follow it.

“Sense what? The roaring is killing my head,” I growled through gritted teeth.

The wolves in the link began to question me. “What roaring?” was barely understood with too many voices asking at once.

“You don’t hear it?” I asked in disbelief.

“No we don’t,” Ron answered with a serious look in his eyes. His charcoal eyes locked onto mine as I watched his chocolate fur toss about with the force of the wind at our rate of speed.

“What the fuck does that mean?” I groaned as my wolf began to again push forward. My body began to pulse with a surge. Everything about my body felt heightened. I had never felt anything like this before. I let myself feel the excitement. I loved it.

We were entering the darkest parts of the woods. My eyes had already adjusted. I could see just as well as I could during the daylight. But now my vision was in black, gray, and white. It took some getting used to at first.

I knew I was close. I could taste something. My mouth began to salivate. But no one should be here. This was still our compound for miles.

I heard my brother enter the link, “Aiden, where are you?”

“In front of the pack,” I said with a defensive growl. I felt bothered by his interruption. This was not normal.

“I’m coming!” He growled back.

“You’re not needed,” I privately linked to him.

“Aiden. I can’t stop,” he aggressively huffed.

“Shit!” I yelled at the entire link.

“Calm down and listen.” Ron broke in with a fierce warning. “It’s right there in the clearing.”

Ahead was an old road. No one used it now. There were remnants of gravel left there but the grass was grown waist-high all around it. But not a single tree. Just an open field. And in the middle of it were two bright lights, pointing off to the left of our approach.

“A human!” Ron yelled after the smell of him caught a light breeze directed straight at the pack.

Every head dropped as the group crouched down instantly and began to make their approach through the tall grass. Now, out of sight. Out of the beams of light. We were surrounding the man and his car. Quiet and stealthy.