09. Hurt

Mandy was lying on the floor of the Alpha's meeting room. Her whole body ached. Merciless, the man had beaten her without even a pause because he didn't want the healing process to activate. She didn't have the strength to move, even a finger. Her cheek was pressed to the ground and her half-open mouth let out a trickle of blood mixed with saliva.

The ringing that had started in her head when the alpha slammed her fist against her ear confirmed that she had a punctured eardrum. Her nose picked up distress pheromones and the young beta remembered that Lucas was in the room, as were Evan and several of their leader's henchmen. None of her friends were moving to help her, and she couldn't blame them.

Lucas was just an omega. Even though he spoke arrogantly the young man was still defenseless. She couldn't count the number of battles he had started but she must have ended on his behalf because he didn't know how to fight. However, since he was marked, Lucas had calmed down. The only person who could still get on his nerves was the broken omega of Bloodhood pack.

While Lucas was in the middle of his courting phase with Evan Whiteforest, a high-rank dominant of his pack, their alpha suddenly announced that the traditional pack Bloodhood had sent in a mating offer.

The proposal wasn't specifically addressed to Evan. Truthfully, it involved all high-rank dominants who had already developed their alpha hormone. However, pressured by his parents who wanted to please the alpha, Evan stopped pursuing Lucas and opened up discussions with Bloodhood. As a collateral victim of his father's greed for the land of the legendary pack, Lucas was heartbroken.

The Omega wanted no Dominants other than Evan. No matter how much he pleaded with his father and cried, the Alpha ruthlessly refused to listen.

When the Bloodhood's alpha came to announce that he was withdrawing his mating proposal, Draken Hook was furious. His guards barely stopped him from doing the irreparable and held him back as he was about to jump at the throat of Silver. This was unforgivable.

Every time he heard that a pack had turned down a mating offer with the golden Fur Omega, the Draken Hook was thrilled. His great hope was to see Bloodhood's leader crawl back. But that never happened.

No matter how many rejections, Silver Bloodhood never reconsidered the option of mating his son with a Crescent Moon dominant. Draken Hook's pride was bruised. His heart dreamed of revenge for the humiliation he had suffered. After all, who else but he would accept a failed omega? How could this pack dare look down on him and break off the discussions? He had the upper hand. He had the power and he was determined to prove it.

The more time passed, the more bitter the alpha became. His interest in the pack quickly turned to obsession and the obsession quickly turned to pure hatred.

When he got the call from Atticus Blackbones, the principal of Blue Moon High, the man exploded in anger. Once again, this feral alpha and his pack had trampled on his honor. This time it wasn't just him. His successor and his young beta had also been humiliated. He wasn't going to let this go.

When Mandy, Evan, and Lucas walked into the room Draken Hook had called them to, the air was already saturated with pheromones of anger. Lucas staggered and immediately fell to his knees, shaking, as his pheromones of distress began to diffuse. Evan barely caught him and hugged him. The Dominant gritted his teeth, not daring to ask the Alpha to suppress his pheromones, even though his mate was in pain.

He knew the price of their leader's anger and he didn't want to pay it. The man rose from the seat he was sitting in and walked along the long wood table before stopping in front of Mandy who was the only one still standing. The others in the room held their breaths, waiting for the explosion.

The alpha's fury broke first with a huge punch that landed on the teenager's cheek. The impact was so brutal that she heard her jaw crack as she hovered several feet away. She barely had time to take the pain when the blows began to rain down on her. Soon her whole body was a lump covered in bruises betraying the extensive internal damage she undoubtedly had.

Mandy painfully opened one eye. Her vision was blurry and a red veil obscured his view. Suddenly she felt a hand grab her by the hair and lift her body off the ground. The pressure on her scalp was unbearable, but the girl couldn't move.

"If you want to live, you are going to do exactly what I tell you."

The alpha didn't wait for her to answer and bluntly dropped her on the floor. Eyes gleaming with vengeful madness, he began to lay out his plan in front of his trusted men and the three teenagers present. Eyes wide, they listened to their leader speak. Shocked by the words he heard from his alpha's mouth, Evan stood up to protest.

"Alpha! This is madness! You must not… "

With a roar that made the walls shake, the leader's claws struck the right side of the young dominant's face. The teenager fell to the ground writhing in pain from the toxin that immediately entered his body. He could feel the skin on his face burning. Unable to take the pain, Evan spread his claws and was about to plant them in his own face to rip the pulpit out. Seeing this, Lucas who was still in shock from the pheromones threw himself on his face to make a barrier with his body. The dominant, unable to hurt his mate despite his pain, froze. He let out screams of pain stifled by Lucas that prevent him from hurting himself.

"No! Don't Dad! Dad, please! Dad, don't kill him! He's my mate! Please don't... I'm begging you! "

Lucas's distress pheromones had exploded and were starting to make all of the Dominants in the room uncomfortable. Everyone felt the need to comfort the omega, but none dared to move. The alpha glanced at his son whose face was wet with tears. He was pressing his mate's body desperately against him and the front of his clothes was now stained with blood. With an exasperated sigh, Draken suppressed his pheromones and waved his hand. Immediately, a woman got up and rushed to the door to call for help.

As they awaited the arrival of their healer with the toxin's antidote, Draken addressed them once again.

"I count on your full cooperation to carry out this plan. Failure is not an option. "

_________

When Silver saw a pale grey wolf leap over the enemy and smash the neck of one of the rogues with a single blow of the jaw, he was instantly relieved. But when he saw that it wasn't the wolf he was waiting for, his eyes widened in fright. He recognized easily the color of the fur he saw so many times alongside his son's. Angry, the alpha linked the young wolf who had come between him and the enemy.

[Dante! What the hell are you doing here?]

[I'm here to protect you and fight the enemy, Alpha.]

[I asked you to stay in the cave. It's way too dangerous. Wait! Don't tell me ... Dante if you bring Eden along, I swear that if those mutts don't cut your throat, I'll do it.]

[I'm ready for whatever the punishment will be, Alpha. But if you think that way because you think Eden isn't strong enough, you'll soon see that I'm not the only one to fear when it comes to kicking some shitbag asses]

They continued to scrutinize their enemies. Showing teeth and growling as a warning. Despite the five wolves in their pack who were still with the alpha, Dante knew they were outnumbered. He was racking his brain, observing each of the enemy wolves one by one for a loophole. He couldn't help but wonder what Eden was waiting for.

A scream arose and his heart sped up slightly as he recognized it. He responded to the signal with a howl, and at the same time, the enemy took action. The caramel wolf ran and tried to sneak up on the alpha who was already engaged with a dark furry wolf. Much smaller and weaker, the opponent didn't resist long and after a few hits, he hovered several meters further.

Silver barely had time to block the young beta's attack. He shifted to his werewolf form and growled.

The strength of the growl startled Mandy and her instincts made her retreat briefly. She walked a few feet away and started to circle the Alpha. Three of her accomplices joined her. Silver looked at his fighters and saw that all of them were in the middle of a fight. They seemed to win which reassured him. Further on, he noticed that Dante was facing two wolves. Even though he had the strength advantage, the young beta of his pack was clearly at a disadvantage as both of his opponents were fighting at the same time. However, the Dominant continued to attack fervently. The alpha returned his gaze to the four wolves in front of him. The caramel wolf bared its fangs, growling her eyes filled with animosity. A noise distracted them. A wolf leaped and landed on two of the enemies then threw them away. The two wolves fell heavily to the ground but got up almost immediately. Silver took the opportunity to link his beta which shifted to fight alongside him.

[You're here!]

[And I'm not the only one. What on earth is Dante doing here?]

[Eden is also here.]

[What? Where? I don't see him.]

One of the wolves attacked and interrupted them, the others followed. They were now two to five. The Alpha could now attack without worrying about anything. A growl escaped between his fangs.

"If you believe his arrival is going to change anything, you are wrong."

Crescent Moon's young beta howled again and several cries responded to her. From their hearing, Silver and Acher knew more werewolves were coming. At least a dozen, probably more. Without waiting any longer they jumped on the enemies already in front of them.

The battle was raging between the two camps. Several inert bodies were already on the ground, none of them from Bloodhood. However, the alpha felt that his fighters were starting to tire and made more mistakes that led to injuries.

The enemy was well prepared. Their numbers surprised him. Apart from the young beta, Silver Bloodhood only saw rogues, recognizable by their numerous scars and their malnourished bodies. The leader immediately suspected that the Crescent Moon's member had probably allied with them under the orders of her alpha. The black furry werewolf was alone facing three opponents. When he heard another scream, Silver winced before straining his ears.

He recognized the cry, it was one of them. With renewed vigor, the alpha dealt claws and punches without resting for a moment. He had finally shaken off two of his opponents when a jaw closed on his neck, gripping his carotid artery tightly. The fangs managed to pierce his fur and dig into his flesh. With a grimace, the alpha spread his claws and planted them without hesitation into the bodies of his attacker. The burn of the toxin made her let go and the leader of Bloodhood sent her body away.

The caramel wolf bounces off the ground. Her whole body was in pain and the toxin was already starting to make its way into her nervous system. His muscles and even his bones seemed to be on fire. The pain made her want to scream, but she was unable to even do that. She barely managed to open her eyes.

Her vision was blurry but she recognized the black cloak with the golden spots of its target. Mandy saw two of her allies use her successful attack to throw themselves on the wounded alpha. One of them planted its fangs in Silver's leg as its claws slashed through his thigh. The other had aimed at the neck as well and planted his claws on either side of the wolf's sides. Silver immediately realized he was an alpha as the toxin immediately infiltrated his nervous system.

The leader gathered his strength. First, he got rid of the werewolf grabbing his leg and sending him away, then he stabbed his claws into the spine of the alpha that had bit his neck.

Suddenly, the assailant's body was snatched away and a golden wolf appeared alongside Silver. A growl rose above the screams and sounds of battle, bringing calm into the night.

"If you want to touch him, you have to deal with me first!"