Feral Snippets

Set during chapter 2 of Hearts.

Leah snarled under her breath as she saw Hayley and her crew shoot looks at each other before following after Bran. It was never a good thing, especially when it was a day after their alpha had graced them all with her presence.

No matter what it was, Natania always managed to stir this shit back up, and Bran would pay for it, like always. Leah shoved off the wall and followed after them. The five of them shifted once they were out of the school and Leah swore, picking up her pace and slamming through the doors.

“Shift Bran,” she barked the order over the bond. His pelt would at least offer more protection than his skin. He looked over his shoulder and grimaced but did as she said, dropping to the ground in his wolf skin. Leah shifted as well, it would only take her a few seconds to reach them.

Hayley and Alex both ripped a chunk from him before she made it, landing between Bran and the others and whipping around to glare at them. They weren’t surprised, they had no doubt heard her coming.

“Get out of here, Bran,” Leah said, baring her teeth and lowering her head. There was no good outcome here. If she shredded them, they’d come back twice as hard, or involve their parents and that would hurt her family, and Bran’s. If she let them shred her without a fight, they’d keep coming back.

Bran shook his head, the stubborn fool. He raised his head and she felt him tugging on their bonds. “What are you doing?” she demanded, but he ignored her.

Hayley lunged then, raking her pelt. Leah turned to face her and Alex hit her other side. Fuck, she thought, this was going to be a bad one. Leah hated living in a pack. When it came to a lower ranked wolf, anything short of killing them was fair game, and all five of them outranked her and Bran. All she could do was bear it.

Bran relaxed suddenly behind her and Leah glanced at him over her shoulder, getting another scratch for the effort and winced.

“Two minutes,” he said.

And she realized why he had been tugging on their bonds. “You didn’t.”

“She’s the only one who outranks Hayley.”

Fuck, Leah snarled under her breath. “She’s the reason they’re doing this.”

“I won’t watch you get ripped apart protecting me.”

And then there was complete chaos.

Natania barreled into Hayley at full speed and they all froze. The golden alpha ripped through Hayley’s pelt and threw her into a tree without even breaking a sweat and Leah was a little surprised the black wolf’s back hadn’t broken from the impact.

Natania got back to her feet and turned on them, her fangs dripping with Hayley’s blood. There was a moment of intense silence and then Natania caught sight of Bran and their bond was consumed with black rage.

“Oh fuck,” Bran whispered. “I recommend nobody move.” Leah gave him a look that said “you think?” and ducked down.

The alpha lunged for Mason. Leah didn’t think she had decided to go for Mason for any reason other than he had the misfortune to be closest to her. Leah expected he wouldn’t be walking out of there anymore than Hayley would be, but Natania didn’t stop.

“Shit.” Bran leaped forward after the fight had dragged on for too long, and Leah grabbed his tail in her teeth

“Don’t,” she warned.

“She will kill him,” Bran hissed. “Fucking with us doesn’t warrant a death sentence. But she won’t hurt me. She never has.”

Leah could still feel the rage in the bonds and doubted his words, but he would know their alpha best. She let him go.

Valerie crouched like she was going to lunge forward and Bran gave her a wide eyed look. “Don’t,” he said urgently. “Just stay there and try not to look like a threat.”

Valerie hesitated then nodded and ducked down close to the ground.

“Nat,” Bran said, struggling to keep his voice calm. “Stop, you made your point.” He didn’t dare to touch her, but kept talking. “He’s had enough. Nat!” He let out a frustrated growl and Mason squealed under her claws. “Nat! You’re going to kill him. Stop!”

And like a light switch the rage turned off. She was still angry, still furious, but that tide of unrelenting anger dissipated as fast as it had arrived. Natania froze, lifting one paw off of him like she didn’t know where she was. Bran quickly resumed a submissive pose.

“Fuck,” Leah said privately to Bran while they waited for her to return to reality. “What the fuck was that?”

“And you wondered why I never told her about Wren.”

Fear snaked in her chest. “That happens a lot?”

“No,” Bran answered. “Only when she’s protecting us. I didn’t think this was extreme enough to trigger this. I guess she considers you someone to protect as well.” A little bit of humor touched their bond. “There’s a reason no one fucks with my mother anymore.”

Leah shuddered. She didn’t want that kind of protection.

Natania finally stepped off of Mason and inspected Bran, her temper flaring. She said something to him, then took several deep breaths.

Leah got to her feet when Bran did, tensing when Natania approached her. “Thank you for protecting my brother.”

Leah bared her teeth. She hadn’t forgotten that this entire mess was the alpha’s fault. She didn’t even want to think about what the five of them would do tomorrow.

Natania turned away from her and went to snarl at the others and Bran came to Leah’s side.

“Tomorrow is going to suck,” she said.

Bran snorted. “Do you want to play hooky?”

Leah rolled her eyes. “You’ll only delay the inevitable.”

Bran raised a paw to muffle his laugh. “It might sink in this time.”

“It’s not funny,” Leah said seriously. “Do you want a leader that flips to that level of violence in a heartbeat?”

“I told you, that only happens when she’s protecting us. Otherwise, she’s a lot more tolerant than Alistair is.” He snorted. “Or you’d be the one headed to the hospital.”

Leah growled under her breath. If Nat would just leave her alone, there would be no problem.

Natania turned back to them after dismissing the others and started sniffing them over. “Are you okay?”

Leah didn’t trust the softness of her voice, not when she could still feel the rage buried underneath. “I’m fine,” she snapped, jumping backwards so she was out of range of her claws. “No thanks to you.” She winced internally, she hadn’t meant to say that part out loud.

But the alpha was exasperated, not angry. “Why are you blaming me for this? I’ve been trying to stop this kind of shit since I could talk.”

Leah couldn’t tell if Natania was fucking with her or just genuinely that fucking stupid. She probed the bond, but couldn’t pick any malice out of their connection, only confusion. Stupid it was. She wanted an explanation? Fine, she’d get one.

“Because every time you fucking come back, you start this shit all over again!” Leah snarled. “Nobody bothers us when you haven’t come around. But you go on your goddamn alpha power trip, remind them they’re not invincible, and they feel the need to prove how strong they are all over again.”

Natania flinched and that just infuriated Leah even more. “You think the pack cares what you want? They don’t know you, they only know your father is ruthless. So yeah, they’ll behave when you’re here, but once you’re gone again? They know no one is going to stop them if they just wait one day.”

“Stop,” Bran snapped at her as despair coated their bond. “You have no idea how badly she wants to be here.” Leah growled at him but didn’t say anything. Nat had lost her right to sympathy when she had almost killed someone.

Natania clenched her teeth and hunched her shoulders. The last touch of anger dissipated until only hurt remained. “I would be here if I could,” she said quietly.

“Then just stay the fuck away!”

“She’s trying her best,” Bran snapped. “What the fuck are you doing?” He bristled with anger. “Leave her alone. She’s still your leader.”

“What you should’ve.” Leah turned her snarl on him. “You should be angry too, you’re the one who gets the worst of it. The all-mighty alpha’s useless omega brother. Hasn’t done you any good.”

The rage flared back to life and Natania moved until they were nose to nose. “Don’t you dare call him that.”

Oh for fucks’ sakes. “I don’t,” she snarled back, her hackles rising. She was the only ranked wolf that didn’t.

Branson pushed in between them and bumped Leah with his shoulder. “Stop it. What’s done is done. Besides, she’ll wipe the floor with you.”

Natania backed off at Bran’s touch, settling back down. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ll see what I can do about being here more often.”

That was the exact opposite of what Natania should have taken from the conversation, but she’d already pushed too far. Leah didn’t want that rage directed at her, or her family. She lashed her tail and sprinted off before they drove each other to violence. She didn’t go too far, she still had classes to attend, but she had to get away from Natania.

“She’d kill to be here with us,” Bran growled a few minutes later.

“Evidently she’d kill for a lot of reasons,” Leah shot back.

Anger flashed from him. “You have no idea what she goes through. Her father broke her ribs yesterday.”

Leah grimaced then shook herself. “She seemed fine.”

Bran reached her and bared his teeth. “Because he does it so often she’s had to learn to cope. Because she’s not allowed to show weakness in front of us.” Bran lashed his tail. “You think Alistair is scary, and you barely have to see him. She has to live with him and get beaten up every day by him. And she still takes the time to ensure my family has enough food,” he snarled. “Even though her father hates her for it.”

“She’d never hesitate to step in front of us,” he continued, “in front of her pack.” He shook his head. “Even though none of them give a damn, or even like her. Everyone either hates her, or is afraid of her, or both.”

“None of that excuses trying to kill Mason,” she growled. Boo-hoo. Maybe the princess would have more friends if she wasn’t such an angry psycho.

“No, it doesn’t. I know that, but for fucks’ sakes, give her some slack. If you had five wolves attacking your family, you’d probably lose it too.” He took a breath. “Look, I don’t care if you hate her or not, but don’t you dare tell her she can’t come see me. I can handle some bullshit if it means she got even a little time with someone who actually gives a fuck about her. You don’t have to protect me.”

Leah curled her lip. “You shouldn’t have to. If she’d just fucking cool it for five seconds, they wouldn’t do this every time she leaves.”

“Yeah, they probably would,” Bran growled. “Alistair hates that she cares about me, and he’s made sure that attitude spreads down to everyone else.”

Leah didn’t really have a comeback for that, but she was spared from responding as the buzzer went off.