Bloodlines

~ Ava ~

She awoke startled, her eyes and throat burning with anxiety. Distantly, she could hear muffled screams as they echoed through her mind. She shuddered and closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to calm her racing heart and gasps of air.

Ava sat up, swinging her legs off the side of the bed, and stood. She walked fast to the chest of draws across from her and poured herself a glass of the cheap whiskey she had bought the night before. Clutching at the chest and waiting for the feeling to pass. The memories flooded her mind regardless, the terror in her mother’s eyes, the smell of burning buildings, the strength in the Beta as he pulled her away. Her pack, her family were gone. Slaughtered in the night by cowards, people that hated her father for speaking out against what had been done, the laws that had been broken. She cared nothing for her species now. They murdered her family for nothing. They took everything from her because they couldn’t justify their own actions.

Her wolf, always close to the surface, was alert and agitated within her, for the memories brought nothing but pain. She turned then and paced across the room, flicking the curtains back and peering out onto the bright sunlit street. The hum of vehicles on the road outside filled the air, broken infrequently by distant, muffled voices. She couldn’t stay here. The cheap motel room smelled of overuse and stale blood. The unnatural, unfamiliar surroundings only added to her agitation. She had made the momentous decision to leave her safe, secluded lodge she had called home months before. It was no longer safe, no longer unknown to others. Someone had found her. She did not know who, only that she could no longer ignore the increasing threat she felt. She turned away from the window and put what little she owned into the small duffle bag, put on her shoes and left the room.

The motel clerk eyed her warily as she approached. Without a word, she threw the key to the desk and left. Walking off into the tree line, unaware that her actions and attitude were unusual. She cared nothing for humans, their short life spans and selfish ways would ultimately come at a price, her species knew that all too well. The forest, as always, was peaceful and thrumming with life. The gurgling water in streams and rivers, the blood of this world. The birds that sang, the voice. The trees and rocks, the bones. It would be faster and easier to shift and run the miles as a wolf, but she needed to stay in her human form, in this form she could not be tracked. She would shift to hunt, eat and sleep, then return to travel on her slow yet strong two legs. It was a painstakingly slow and a frustrating process but a necessary one.

The day slowly subsided, the sun fading from the sky, leaving an orange-red glow in its wake. Ava listened to the sounds of birds and rustling leaves. She was deep in the forest now. She stopped next to a small brook. A clearing ran along its side, thick with tall grasses and wildflowers. With a huff, she dropped her backpack and rolled her shoulders. Her back ached, and her legs were sore, but she was becoming accustomed to that now. This would be good hunting, freshwater and long grass meant deer would be close by. She felt her wolf perk up in anticipation. She loved to hunt. Loved the chase, the feel of freedom and power. She waited. She would hunt in the dark, like her parents had taught her, as their parents had taught them. “This is what we are made for Ava.” she heard her father’s voice whisper in her mind and she closed her eyes to savor the memory.

Darkness fell swiftly under the canopy, yet she waited still, listening, learning. When the moon glowed brightly in the sky, she stripped from her clothes and stretched. She felt the first ripples from her ribs and embraced the shift. She blinked and her vision was no longer that of humans. Colors dulled, but detail became so enhanced that she could focus on a single dewdrop in the tall grass surrounding her. She shook out her fur and leapt. Her paw hit the soft fallen leaves of the canopy as she ran, looking for her dinner. Ava let her emotions settle as only the wolf could and focused solely on the hunt.

~ Kane ~

“They threaten our territory borders from both the North and the West, Alpha.” said a voice to his right.

He studied the map laid before them on the large mahogany table. Resting his forearms on the back of a chair, he watched as his Beta moved around the table slowly, and placed the markers showing the rival packs positions. Kane clenched his jaw in thought. They were dangerously close to invading his territory. The two warring packs had been pestering him for months to join their respective sides.

“Increase the border patrols. Both the size and frequency. Do not hesitate to warning them what crossing into our territory means.” He replied flatly. He wouldn’t pander to these disrespecting packs any longer.

The Beta nodded and left the room, his face expressionless, unfazed by the orders. Kane studied the map for a short time longer. If one pack succeeded in their war, it would almost enclose his territory. Mountains bordered the territory to the south and a large river bordered the east. He would have little choice but to rival the winning pack, which he believes is why the Alphas have not yet openly challenged one another. He felt a small sense of satisfaction in that.

He reached for his glass and downed the last of his single malt as he walked to the window and gazed out onto the grounds of his estate. He will run the patrol tonight. If there is trouble, he will be there for it. He spent the next few hours seeing to business, both within the pack and the company he ran. As he walked the grounds with his Beta, they spoke of the increasing tensions of their kind.

“They are worried Alpha,”

Kane nodded at Jason’s words. He understood, they were all worried; current circumstances affected them all, but this is not something that war could change.

“They are giving in too easily to the worst part of our nature. They are weak.” He replied to his Beta, his voice harsh and clipped as he spoke.

His Beta, Jason, only nodded in response. They walked down the softly lit drive and along the path towards the barracks. Outside the extensive building, he saw groups of men standing and murmuring to one another.

The talking ceased as he approached. “Alpha.” they each greeted, nodding in respect.

He nodded back, eyeing the men that were assigned to tonight’s first patrol. Two large black vehicles had been parked off to the left, both taking opposite directions along the border of the territory as the wolves ran the circuit. Not one of these men were mated, each face held the same expressionless mask, they stood straight and proud and ready to fight. He sighed, and that was why his species would not survive. These men, like all males of their kind, had slowly lost their ability to feel emotion. Since puberty, each shift would slowly strip away their capacity to feel, not only emotions but physical pain as well. It was the way of their kind. The only thing that would reverse this and restore their abilities to feel again would be to find their mate, the one they were destined to be with. But now there was little hope. Females were all too rare, few were born, less were made and survived. He had heard stories, of course, of human women being turned and mated. He did not believe them. Even if such fairy tales were true, it was against the law to turn humans. Not that he had any doubt it would be done by many if they truly believed it was possible to achieve a mate this way.

He ran three patrols that night, dispatched a rogue and sent warnings back to the Alphas of both warring packs with the members that crossed the territory line. It will be the first and last warning to them. He left each intruder a row of deep claw rakes down their chests. It could be seen as an act of aggression, marking another pack’s members in such a way, but he doubted they would do anything about it. Tomorrow the kills will start. He needed to protect what was his now more than ever.