9 - Damien

well s**t. i knew she'd be shocked by my shift, but collapsing? really? i stood there for a few minutes, unsure of what to do, i mean, i couldnt just leave her lying in her back yard, but i couldn't put her back in her house, and just leave her unprotected. now thats she knows about shifters, she's in even more danger. i decided to bring her back to my place, so i slowly shimmied under her, and moved her onto my back. i set off at a fast walk, scared i would jostle her, not wanting to disturb her, but then i heard it. a beastly, dark snarl of a howl echoed through the night, and i heard the beating of heavy paws hitting the ground, and they were heading in my direction. fast. Alpha had caught on, and he was not happy. i picked up the pace, pushing my legs to the limit, pumping my lungs to the maximum, praying i would make it to mine in time. the trees we're a green blur as i galloped through the woods, not following a visual path, but the scent trails that i left when i walked here earlier. soon i could see the back porch of my house, and i sprinted up the grass, out of the treeline, aware of the beats of paws getting louder behind me. i shifted back, so i ran straight through the porch doors, ducking so i didn't bump Sadie's head, going upstairs and placing her on the bed. i threw a blanket on her, and sprinted downstairs. i walked out of the back door grabbing a pair of pants on the way out and throwing them on. the second my feet touched grass, a large dark brown figure stepped out of the darkness. it was alpha. he looked like a killer, teeth showing, dripping with saliva. his muzzle was turned up in a snarl, and his eyes were practically glowing. i lifted my hands up in a surrender

"now alpha, i can expla-" i couldn't even finish my sentence before he launched himself at me. i barely had time to defend myself, and shifted seconds before he hit me. i knew better than to fight back, but i was less likely to get hurt in this form. he pinned me down by my neck, and snarled in my face. normally snarling is just a way of communication, no real threat there. but I could see in his eyes, that he wanted to rip my throat out. I looked away from his eyes and whimpered, trying to calm him down, but he wasn't having any of it. he put more pressure against my neck and my whine cut off, as did my breathing. it was then that I realised, it actually was his intention to kill me. and I wasn't having any of that. I clawed at his leg, enough for him to release the pressure due to the shock of me fighting back. once my airways were open I let loose a guttural snarl and launched myself at my alpha. he beat me in fights due to my respect for him as my leader, but he was threatening my life, and Sadie, and for some reason, the thought of Sadie in danger, so close to a shifter who had allowed his wolf control, pushed me over the edge. I collided with him with the force of a tank, knocking him back a few metres, and before he could gather his bearings, I charged again, biting his flank and darting back to avoid his teeth. unfortunately, not fast enough. I felt the sharp pain of a bite on my hind leg, and I kicked back, trying to loosen his grip. I swung my body around, jaws open, ready to tear flesh and taste blood. he had his wolf in control, all he saw was a wolf he wanted to kill. I was still man, and I saw a wolf who was threatening someone I cared for. I stared him straight in the eyes as I lunged for his throat, and I bit deep enough to feel his windpipe closing. I pushed him to the floor and replaced my jaws with my front paw, holding him down until he stopped struggling. surprisingly, he stilled almost instantly, his eyes wandering to the forest behind me. i heard a growl, and lifted my head up slowly, to look straight into the eyes of the Alpha female, Skylar; and she was growling and snarling like a banshee. my head started to lower in her presence until i realised she wasn't snarling at me. she was looking at Alpha, and from her expression, she was seriously pissed off.

i lifted my paw off and backed away, moving closer to the house and turning to stand in between the two wolves and Sadie. Skylar moved forwards, towards brock, and stared at him until he lifted his body up off the floor. his head was dipped, so he wasn't looking directly in her eyes. as scary as an alpha male is, its nothing compared to the rage of the alpha female. those b*****s are terrifying. she lifted her lip at him, then looked at me. she lifted her paw and pointed to herself. i knew the signal, and walked inside to grab some clothes for all of us. minutes later the three of us stood in human form in the middle of my backyard. i was still on high alert, still standing between them and the house, but the others were calm. Skylar had made Brock submit in seconds - an impressive feat even for an alpha female.

"Damien, please allow me to apologise for my mates behaviour. you know he is only thinking of Sadie's safety -"

"her safety?! he came galloping in, half feral, ready to tear my throat out! what if Sadie had come out? what would have stopped his wolf from hurting her?"

"i would have recognised my own daughter you idio-"

"honey, shut up. you seriously aren't helping your case here"

i smirked at the look on Brock's face when Skylar put him in his place. but a quick look from her wiped the smile off instantly.

"Damien, you know that Brock gave you an order to leave Sadie be. she will know when she is ready, its not your call to make"

"Alpha, you don't understand...i just feel like i have to look after her....i have this pull towards...she makes me....i don't know" a look of knowing came over Skylar's face, and she smiled slightly.

Damien...

i knew she was using her Alpha Female power over me then. Alpha males had the power to enforce orders that we found impossible to disobey - except this time (i was still confused about that) and Alpha Females had the power to speak to their pack through their minds. it was a calming sensation, and i could feel her power settle over me like a comforting blanket.

yes alpha?

i have chosen to speak with you in this way because i do not think it would be wise for my mate to hear what i have to ask and say to you.

well? what is it?

when you first saw Sadie, when you were both children, what was your first reaction?

well....it was strange. i saw her, and i saw jack going for her. i could smell the blood. her blood. i just got really angry at jack for hurting someone, then she looked at me, and when i saw her eyes, peace flooded through me for a second, i dunno why. then i remembered jack and i got really, really angry at him. he had no right to hurt her. i wanted to kill him. i didn't think, i just ran at him. i had to save her.

i see. and after that, why did you choose to see her again?

i don't know alpha. something just pulled within me, to her house. i mean, it was strange-

i know that since that day you had visited her house every night. you think i didn't notice your absence?

my cheeks flushed red, and i waited for her next words. i didn't want to seem like a stalker to her, i just felt

you just felt like you had to look over her, you had to make sure nobody hurts her.

yeah, exactly. but i don't know why, i just had to. is it because she's Brock's daughter?

no my child, that is no reason for you to have an urge to protect her.

she looked away from me, towards the house

 ive never known this to happen so young, i mean traumatic experiences can trigger it, but never as young as what you both were.

what alpha? what is it?

she frowned, looking at me, obviously i wasn't meant to hear that bit.

Damien, now is not the time for you to know. all i suggest is that you follow your gut, it is rarely wrong. i will calm Brock, just make sure you are there for Sadie no matter what. do not let her away from your side, protect her with your whole being

that's all i want to do Alpha.

she smiled at me, content with my answer, and turned to Brock

"honey, listen. Damien has done the right thing. if i hadn't done what i did, she would already know about us. its time she knew. its time she met her father."

no matter what, a wolf always trusts his mate.

"okay, i will speak with her now"

"no! not now, she has just had a major shock, she isn't ready. i will phone Steph's office, and delay her till the day after tomorrow. you can see her tomorrow when Damien brings her back to her house then you can-"

"and leave her here with him?! out of the question!"

i snarled and took a step forward. "ive been there for her for more than you have been in her whole life and you disrespect me by no trusting me with her safety?!"

skylar stepped between us, and placed a hand on both of our chests. " guys, chill. Brock, Damien will protect her and treat her well. trust him with this. he is your Beta for a reason. Damien, go inside, calm her. take her to her house tomorrow. we will fix this all soon."

both me and brock let out our breath, and skylar pulled him to the treeline, giving me a brief smile before they disappeared into the darkness. i turned around, towards the house, both excited and anxious for tomorrow.