Owned By The Alphas: Part Four (6 page)

N
ot as strong
as Calt or Red, Bloo promised Ali she could handle a passenger, even though it was her first time. Too worried about their friends to argue, Ali climbed on and trusted the she-wolf. True to her word her footing was sure, if not a bit slower than the alphas had been, but that was to be expected. Plus there was the tricky aspect of following tracks even when they veered off in unexpected directions at the same time. It was impossible to be fast when spinning in circles.

“They tried to throw us off! These make no sense!” Ali called down. Bloo in her wolf form could only nod, and she dipped back to the other direction every time they hit a dead end. This happened no less than six times. “Damn, Lucin, you are a crafty fucker!” Ali mumbled, knowing it had to have been his idea. He was always telling her how he wanted to be taken more seriously, and this was surely a way for him to show them all. Even now he was trying to impress his alpha, and it pulled at Ali’s heart to know it.

When snow began to fall, Ali cried out, “NO!” Bloo turned in circles so fast that Ali swayed and had to grab harder onto her fur. “Okay, whoa! Don’t lose it. We’ll find them. We’ve got to!” Bloo barked, and Ali answered, “I know. I know! There will be no way to with their tracks getting covered up like this. What do we do?!”

Bloo headed in the direction of Red’s den.

“Oh shit! No, Bloo! No!” The wolf barked and picked up speed. Ali muttered, “I’m sorry. You’re right. They probably asked them for help.”

Ali tightened her legs around the she-wolf’s middle and lowered her torso to reduce wind-resistance. It was fucking freezing out, but now Ali’s skin heated up. She bit her lips, calling to her lost friend in a hurried whisper, “C’mon, Lorn,
be
there! Don’t torture me for nothing.”

T
he boulder barred the entrance
. Bloo slowed and Ali stared at the tree, feeling like her heart might explode out of her chest, it was pounding so hard. Her hands were sweaty and she had to remind herself to breathe. Climbing off, she waited for Bloo to shift as she stared at that sequoia.

Two months.

It had been two whole months since she’d seen him. Or was it more? She couldn’t remember; the nights toppled into each other without hindrance of a clock.

She shook her legs out to get the blood pumping, sending snow flying everywhere. Glancing nervously to her friend, she shrugged. “You think they’re here? Because we could search around some more.”

Bloo, taller than Ali by at least three inches now, cocked an eyebrow at her. “You are freaking out. Get it together.”

“I’m doing my best.”

“Do you want me to knock?”

They weren’t given a chance to decide, because the boulder started to move. The three brothers came into view and Ali stared at them, unable to speak. Like they were one person, they turned their heads in unison to eyeball the visitors. Ali’s stomach dropped as Red appeared in the doorway, his beard slightly longer, his hair a sexy mess, his blue eyes stewing with mixed emotions as he frowned at the two females. Then he stared at Ali as though everyone else disappeared.

With that look in his eyes, he stepped out onto the snow with bare feet, a pelt wrapped around his body. It was the first time she’d seen him wearing one and while he was stunning naked, there was something very stimulating about him wearing all that caveman-like fur. Damn.

She took a step toward him, her throat going dry. “Hi.”

“Hey,” he answered, his voice as raspy as she remembered. He looked toward Bloo and then snapped back to Ali, his blue eyes sparking hot. “What are you doing here? Is Calt with you?”

The name was exactly the punch to reality she needed. Glancing to her she-wolf friend, she took a deep breath. “No. We’re here looking for our…family.” It felt weird to say. It was the first time she’d called them that, but that’s what they were. Her family.

Bloo’s voice was under control. “Lorn and Lucin. They ran away…eloped, I guess. We were hoping they were here.”

His confused frown and the looks on the brother’s faces told them the answer. But it was Tawny who spoke it as she appeared in the doorway. “They’re not here.” Kyren and Gypha walked up, too and the whole pack stepped out onto the snow, everyone covered with furs. “Bloo, you look cold. Let me get you something.” Tawny disappeared inside.

Ali and Bloo exchanged a what-the-hell-was-that look as Kyren came to stand beside Red. She looked equally stunning in her fur as he did. “They eloped? You mean they’re in love? But why run away?”

Bloo shrugged. “Yeah. It’s not allowed.”

Red cocked his head. “What?”

Ali, feeling loyal and protective, quickly said, “There are no favorites. It’s to keep things equal and harmonious.”

“Not working out though, is it?” Tawny jogged up with a pelt and a rope.

“Thanks.” Warily, Bloo took them and put them on, shaking off the tiny snowflakes from her hair as she informed Tawny, “He said he wants to change the rules now.”

Tawny’s eyebrows shot up. “Calt said that?”

Bloo nodded. “So maybe it’s good they did this…as long as we can find them again, that is.”

She covered with a dry tone, “That’s great. Glad to hear it,” but she wasn’t fooling anyone.

As she addressed them as a group, Ali kept her eyes on the pack, avoiding Red’s penetrating stare that had never left her. “If you could please tell them, if they come to you, that there will be no punishment. We just want them home and safe. They’ve never been without a pack before.”

Tawny frowned with real concern as she looked toward the west. “They’re probably very scared.”

Bloo sighed. “They’re not the strongest of us, you know.”

Tawny nodded and met her old friend’s eyes. “I know. I hope you find them. I mean that.”

There was an awkward silence, and then Red said, “Be safe,” forcing Ali to look at him. She crumbled and offered him a sad smile. Surprising everyone, he walked over to embrace her, burying his face in her hair. Her breath hitched as she hugged him back and closed her eyes. He whispered in her ear, “You got new boots.”

She chuckled, pushing him away, and taking a step back on wobbly knees. Several shuffled their feet. Both Tawny and Bloo were frozen as if the air had left their lungs. Ali knew the feeling, but she blushed guiltily knowing she should not have touched the alpha, for so many reasons.

“We’ve gotta go, Ali.” Bloo slid off the borrowed pelt and tossed it back. “Thanks for this.” She paused. “I’m glad to see you’re softening up, Tawny.”

The pale blue eyes danced as she returned, “Oh, I’m still a badass.”

Bloo grinned, “I’ve no doubt,” but then the weight of their situation stole her smile away. She looked to the others, everyone’s shoulders and crowns of their heads now covered in a light layer of snow. “Goodbye. Maybe we’ll see you around.” They nodded a goodbye, and she glanced at Ali before shifting.

Ali was staring at the snowy ground around her oversized boots, wishing she could just get out of there. As her friend’s transformation completed, she went to climb on, but whipped around as Red shouted, “Wait!”

“We have to go,” she whispered.

Resigned, he shook his head and swatted the air with his hand. “This isn’t right. You don’t have to do this alone. We’ll help you.”

Stammering, Ali objected, “That’s very sweet, but we decided it was best to go it alone. We don’t want to scare them, and–”

With authority, Red interrupted her. “They won’t be afraid of us. We don’t mean anything to them. More likely they’ll look to us for shelter. It will not be the same as if they faced their own alpha.” To his pack, he instructed, “Fan out. If any of you finds them, see if they’ll come back with you here. Tell them they’re
not
going to be punished in any form, in any way.” The wolves nodded. “And if they won’t come, ask them to stay put so we can send someone to talk to them. Actually, remain in two’s so when you find them, one of you can stay there and make sure they don’t leave.” He walked to Ali, determined. “
I’ll
take you.”

She stepped back as he advanced. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I’ll carry you.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea! I really think I should stay with–”

“Enough. There are more important things here than you and me.” To Bloo he explained with the power of an alpha to a beta, “No disrespect, but I can run faster, and Tawny tells me you’re an excellent hunter. The young ones are best served if you use your talents. You should be tracking, not carrying a passenger.”

Her grey eyes rose to meet her friend’s and Ali reminded her, “He’s going to be pissed when he hears, Bloo.” The she-wolf shook her head and padded the snow, shooting a powdery wake in her path.

Not happy about it but knowing he was right, Tawny explained, “She’s trying to say Calt would want you to do everything to find them… even this.”

Ali swallowed hard, staring at the beast of a man who had an incredible pull on her that would do neither of them any good if she succumbed to its power. She was just starting to earn Calt’s trust that she wouldn’t run back to Red, and she couldn’t promise that touching him again wouldn’t tempt her to do exactly that, just so she could feel his body against hers one last time, his lips traveling over her skin until she trembled in his arms, breathing him in... The fainting feeling floated up her body, but she didn’t have time for it. Lorn needed her.
Stop being so fucking selfish, Ali.
She steeled herself and gritted her teeth. “Fine.”

Red turned to his female second in command. “Kyren, go with Thanot and Jal. Gypha, you and Motis go that way.” He pointed to the south. “Tawny, come with us.”

“You got it.” “We’ll let you know if we find anything.” “Meet you back here before sunrise.”

“No. Back here by sunset. We’ll fan out again then if we haven’t found them.”

One after the other they dropped their pelts, threw them into the den and shifted. Ali stepped back, boots crunching the snow. When a whole pack of werewolves changes shape, the noise is simultaneously painful and beautiful and today there was no waterfall to hide it. Her breath steamed little clouds before her parted lips, and she turned her head to meets Red’s gaze. He was the last in human form and he looked as wary of carrying her on his back as she was of riding him. With a clenched jaw, he strode to the boulder, threw in his pelt and pushed it closed, the muscles in his naked body flexed and straining against it. Ali swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around her body, forcing herself to look away.

He called out to them all, “Go!”

Kyren, Gypha, Jal, Motis, and Thanot took off running in their given directions. Tawny and Bloo waited for the alpha to return, both pawing at the snow, ready. Red strode back to Ali, “We’re going to find them.”

Not looking at him, she whispered, “I hope so.”

With amazing speed, he transformed. She gasped and flashed eyes back to watch, staring at his wolf and praying for strength as she climbed on and wove her fingers into the soft thickness of his coat. None of it felt real. Happiness mixed with pain. She gripped him tightly and clamped her legs against his sides, thinking,
God help me,
as he took off.

The she-wolves put their snouts to the ground, fanning out as they ran through the forest, returning with a glance to each other telling they’d found nothing. The icy wind thrashed through Ali’s hair and face, but she did not feel the cold. Rising up on the great wolf’s back, she scanned higher ground for any sign of them, searching her knowledge of Lorn to guess where she might go. “Lorn! Don’t let this be the last time I’ve seen you!” Ali whispered as trees zipped by them and rocks were narrowly avoided. Yosemite Park was a winter nightmare, each turn reminding how much ground they had to cover with no tracks to guide them as the snow continued to fall.

They searched gullies, ground caves, and clusters of bushes, anywhere that could be a hiding place. Tracks of small animals were the most discouraging; the first sight of them made their hearts jump then fall. At the river, they ran along side of it, trying to find a place to cross, because there was so much land on the other side! Bloo zipped around the hedges and rocks as Tawny kept close to the water. Red looped out in greater circles since he could catch up with them, his speed always greater. When he and Ali heard loud barking, he ran back to find Tawny and Bloo waiting by the riverbank, a jagged path of rocks stretching from where they stood to the other side. The Tuolumne rapids rushed loudly around the moss-edged stones.

Red gave her a signal to hold on, and she called down to him, “It’s alright! I trust you!”

The she-wolves waited for Red to lead the way. He leapt from the first rock to the second without trouble. He paused, weighing the distance to the third and then the next. It wasn’t anything compared to the boulders he’d climbed carrying her when he was pissed, but the water and snow added tricky components. He tensed back and took the leap, teetering slightly as they landed on the slippery gray stone.

Ali called over the roaring water, “That was perfect! Keep going! I’ve got a strong hold!”

His wolf bowed, then leapt and landed squarely in the middle of the next rock, the highest of them all. Ali looked at the water rushing next to them, then behind her to see that Tawny and Bloo were close, standing on the last two rocks.

A scream pierced the air and all four looked toward the sound. It came from the other side of the river, and from a distance. Then a terrifying howl ripped through the air.

Ali yelled, “It’s Lorn!”

Alarmed, Red leapt to the next rock without hesitation. Even though it was five feet wide, in his urgency, he’d gone too far. His front paws slipped on the drenched moss and Ali tumbled forward, crashing into the water and hitting her body against the rock as she grabbed onto his front leg with one hand. She yelled out in pain, reaching with her other hand to grasp onto knots in the stone. The current grabbed her legs and pulled her boots off, zipping them away and under the crashing surface. Red strained, his body angling for traction to pull her onto the rock by walking backwards, but it was no use. If he leaned forward to grab her with his teeth, he’d lose footing and they’d both go in. She screamed, “Stop moving! Oh God…I can’t hang on!”