River


We have to find a cure, soon I realized as I looked over the latest reports.  A deep unabating weariness seeped into my bones as I saw the statistics. The pack had lost an unacceptable number of members at this point. The illness affecting my people was growing, not just in numbers but also in strength. I felt the raw animal fury within me stir, reminding me even I was not immune. I shuffled through a report on my desk, eyeing the numbers.

For the last six months, I had tried to find a solution or hell even a cause for why members of my pack seemed to be going mad and turning into monsters. All that we knew for sure was that it was some kind of spell that made controlling our animal side nearly impossible. Kai, my second, had joked that it was turning us into wolfmen, wolves who sometimes wore the skin of a man. I slammed my fist on the desk, cracking the top slightly, and sighed. Fuck now I’ll have to replace that too.

I had fought tooth and nail to wrestle the pack from the last alpha, a deranged and violent man who had grown paranoid and vengeful. Now what was the prize? A magical illness that started six months into my reign as alpha driving all of us mad. I stood up from the desk and began pacing, trying to tamper down the rage that was not fully mine building dangerously inside me.  

My office door slammed open and Kai burst inside. I looked at him as he caught his breath and my stomach dropped as I saw the panic and rage in his eyes. He was definitely not here to deliver any good news.

“River you have to come! Micha has lost his fucking mind!” Kai eventually panted out. Kai was short for a werewolf, but still tall at about 5ft 9. He had short black hair and deep brown skin with ruddy undertones. He was a strong and calm second usually and had been my friend since we were young.     

“Slow down Kai, what are you talking about,” I said, utterly confused.

“MICHA! He and his band of idiots kidnapped a fucking WITCH! They think they can force her to break the gods damned spell!” Kai gasped out. Fuck that was bad. I was out the door in a flash.

“Where are they?” I demanded. The very last thing this pack needed was to fight a war with the witches on top of all the other crap we were dealing with. I had to fix it and hope that whatever witch they had kidnapped was unharmed. 

“They took her to Micha’s. Lily saw them bringing her in and smelled what she was. She called me immediately.” Lily was Kai’s little sister and friends with Micha’s mate. She must have been at the house when they brought the girl in. How they managed to catch a witch was beyond me, but it didn’t matter. They had violated the treaty, and if it took me turning the rogue ass hats over to the council to protect the pack and keep the peace I would, even if the thought made me sick. 

I felt the bones of my body popping and shifting as I exited his house, and a warm fiery magic rushed over my skin as reality shifted and my body reformed into that of a massive bright white wolf. My thoughts were streamlined in this form and all my senses were sharper. The moonlight shone on us. It wasn’t full, but that was an old tale given to humans to avoid suspicion. We had more strength and energy when the moon was fuller due to our origins as creations of the goddess Luna, but we could still shift and be plenty lethal when it was less than full. A wolf with white and brown fur and a white muzzle ran beside me, Kai. We ran full force till we neared the cottage Micha and Elva, his mate, lived in. 

I inhaled slowly. I could place four distinct different members of our pack aside from Micha and Elva. One was Lily and the other three were males I had seen hanging around Micha. Another scent was interwoven and it was so intoxicating I found myself breathing deeper and deeper. It was a mix of vervain, pomegranate, and vanilla and something else, something strong and wild and charged. That scent must be the witch, though I had no idea why she smelled so heavenly. I had met other witches and they never smelt this good. Maybe it was because I was in my wolf form. 

With one last inhale, I willed the world to shift around me again as the same magic raced through my fur, once again changing my whole form till I crouched as a man in the woods outside the house. Kai had shifted back as well. We stood and approached the house, and I was pleasantly surprised that the sweet smell was still in the air, just not as powerful.

A tall figure stepped out of the house to face us. It was Micha, his scared face forming a snarl. As he left his three cronies followed, growling. I growled back loudly.

“Alpha” Micha said the title with disgust. The previous alpha had been Micha’s uncle and he fully anticipated being the next. All those hopes ended when I won the rite of leadership and killed his uncle. I knew Micha was resentful of me, but to stoop so low and to break the treaty? There would be punishment.

“What did you do Micha” I snarled, not slowing my stride.

“What you were, apparently, too weak to do” Micha’s tone was a mocking sneer. I was on him now, I leaned down in his face, my body vibrating in anger. Waves of rage washed over me, tingeing my vision red. The wild feral force in my body demanded I teach the insolent wolf a lesson by ripping out his throat with my teeth. I resisted knowing if I gave into the feral beast inside me I would struggle to keep control. 

“What did you say, Micha.” I was a good bit taller than Micha and He knew I could easily take him. I watched as fear entered his orange eyes as he realized the danger he was in. Maybe he even saw how loose my grip was on my inner beast because he stepped back and lowered his head in submission. I chuckled darkly “That is what I thought. Micha how could you fuck things up so gods damn badly!” barely contained rage filled my voice. 

“We have to stop the curse!” Micha’s little lackey piped in. I glared at him.

“And you think starting a war with the witches will end the curse?” Kai said from behind me, sounding incredulous.

“We had to do SOMETHING!” The other wolf shot back. 

“Anyway she is a lone witch. We found her at the university. She is not a coven member.” Micha said.

“YOU IDIOT! That doesn't mean shit! Lots of witches attend college!” Kai yelled. Micha turned pale.

“M-Micha” a female voice called from inside the cabin. It was Elva, she sounded weak. Suddenly Micha’s actions made a little more sense. It wasn’t just a madness that gripped the pack. Pregnant mothers had been unable to carry to term, our pack had not had a healthy live birth in six months, and Elva was pregnant. Shit, this complicated things even more. His face contorted with despair and pain as he turned back. 

“Yes my love,” He said, all the menace and anger gone.

“Lily says she's awake.” Elva’s trembling voice called. I shoved past Micha into the cabin. It was a small cozy two-bedroom house. Elva stood in the middle of the living room, looking thin and haggard, her hand on a slightly swollen abdomen. Her usually olive skin was pale and clammy and her cheekbones stood out as if she was losing weight. She lowered her head to me when I entered. 

“A-Alpha” her voice cracked as she greeted me. My gut clenched. Micha was right about one thing, we had to find a cure. The witch's intoxicating scent was so strong in this room that I could hardly think for a moment.

“Where is she, Elva,” I said. She pointed one thin finger at the guest room. I took a deep breath of the sweet air and calmed myself. I found that surrounded by that scent it was easier to do. Maybe Micha was onto something about the witch. Already I felt less angry than I had in months. I opened the door and my heart dropped.

Sitting up on the bed was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on. Her long black hair was mussed and streaked through with white, My hand itched to touch one of the streaks. Her eyes were a vibrant ethereal silver ringed with an electric blue that burned into my very soul. I watched as her skin glowed silvery with power. Every part of my body screamed to take her into my arms and hold her, inhale that scent from the source, and feel her smooth skin. 

Mate. The pieces clicked into place and that voice deep inside of me growled in approval. That is why her scent had been intoxicating and calming. She was not a cure, she was another complication. 

I had to release her, but the idea was so repugnant I rejected it immediately. Even as she glared at me I desperately needed her. Fuck I thought I could not be in a worse position? I didn't even know a wolf COULD mate with a witch. I lost myself gazing at the vision of angry perfection as she stomped over to me. I looked down seeing her rage and anger and knew I would not be able to let her go while the curse had any hold over me. I had to physically lock my arms so my twitching hand didn't reach up and catch a silver strand of her hair.