Mate of the Werewolf - Clash of the Alpha Wolves

AN: Hello again. Um, yeah, health is still rather dodgy at the moment.

Anyway, thank you so very much to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. Only two more chapters left to go and then I can concentrate on the three I’ve yet to finish. I’m going to be concentrating more on “Guardian of Fire Island” as that one will be rather long. I have it mostly worked out, though.

I also have another story that I’ve been working on in bits and pieces. It won’t be uploaded until I get the majority of it done, though. So you probably won’t see it for a while.

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the mean little cliff-hanger at the end.

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Chapter 11: Clash of the Alpha Wolves

The scent of blood drifting upon the air was the first thing Ethan could sense as he and Chance ran through the thick darkness of the night. And then with that blood came the familiarity of his sister’s scent.

Did she attack another rouge wolf or...was she the one being attacked?

With a sense of dread forming a lump in his throat, Ethan soon gained the answer to his questions...and it almost made his heart stop beating.

His sister was lying on her back on the hard dirt, her muddy coloured fur stained with sticky blood that was beginning to pool around her prone form. Her reddish-brown eyes where wide open and glazed over, appearing to be in the later stages of shock.

And the one doing all of this was a large wolf, almost as broad as Chance himself, his fur a bleak black with sploshes of red on his chest and feet. He had Camellia by the throat, his large white canines savagely tearing at the flesh; so deep the punctures were she was making sickly gurgling noises as her oesophagus was ripped open and exposed, blood seeping into her lungs.

Camellia was no match for the much larger wolf, his hulking frame easily standing over her, his large jaws effortlessly biting into her neck.

“Stop!” Ethan cried as he and Chance skidded into the clearing. “Don’t kill her!”

However, the dark wolf simply tightened his jaw further to make a gut-wrenching crack before flinging Camellia’s lifeless body at him with a shake of his head, blood dripping from his parted jaws.

“Camellia!” Ethan cried as he ran over to his sister’s body.

“Ethan, get back!” Chance said in warning, but Ethan paid no heed. He scrambled over to his sister’s body, panic and fear abundantly seen in his form.

“Camellia!” he called out again, nudging her a little with his nose. “Can you hear me? Camellia?”

“Her throat has been severed,” Chance said as he cast his blue eyes over her with expert attention. He then gently nudged at Ethan’s side in an attempt to make him step away. “I’m sorry.”

“She’ll be ok,” Ethan said, clearly in denial at how bad a state Camellia was in. “I just need my tools. I can help her.”

Another nudge from Chance. “Ethan...”

“I know! I know...” Ethan said softly, his head dropping to give his sister one last nuzzle. “Camellia, I...”

Suddenly, Camellia seemed to twitch, her breathing becoming more and more ragged, more difficult. And then, on one last shuddering breath, she managed to murmur; “Run, you fool.”

“Camellia, I’m so sorry.”

“Well, isn’t this touching?” Came a mocking coo from the red and black wolf, his tongue running along his teeth and lips to lick up the blood.

With tears in his eyes, Ethan leapt to his feet and bared his teeth in a sign of anger. “You didn’t have to do that!” he snarled.

“Hmm, yes I did,” he chuckled darkly, mirthlessly. “You see, she was ruining my reputation.”

Ethan was taken aback by his response. “Reputation?”

“He’s name is Raven, the real Crimson Wolf,” Chance explained as he gently, yet forcibly guided Ethan away from his sister’s body, placing himself in-between him and the other wolf now known to him as Raven. “He’s trade mark attack is ripping out his opponents throat. Your sister didn’t have a chance.”

So, this was Raven he had heard about...

“Oh, sister?” Raven asked as he threw a casual glance in Camellia’s lifeless direction, a sense of satisfaction in his gaze. “I can’t see the resemblance. Of course, it’s a bit hard now that she’s covered in all that blood.”

Chance snarled a warning, his ear folding back and his head lowering as the hackles on the back of his neck rose with his anger.

“And not to mention, as dead as a doornail,” Raven offhandedly commented, seemingly pleased with what he had done before he, too, squared his shoulders for another impending battle.

“There was no need to such force,” Chance said forcefully as the two Alpha-type wolves stared each other down, the tension in the air thick and unsettling. “You never used to be like this. What happened to you?”

“Things change,” Raven replied dismissively. “For a pack to be strong, the Alpha wolf must be all powerful. Your father was weak to allow you to head out on such an insignificant quest. I had no choice but to step up and take the lead.”

“What you have done is not power, but control,” Chance snarled back at him. “You control others with fear and intimidation. That is not the role of an Alpha.”

A mirthless chuckle radiated from Raven. “You were always so naive.”

Chance was silent for a few moments, seemingly contemplating something before he gave a resigning sigh. “I see that there is no other way.”

“No, this has gone on long enough,” Raven stated as he took a couple of steps forward, making Ethan slink back, hiding further behind his much stronger mate. “Come, White Wolf, you will belong to me now.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Chance growled dangerously in response.

“Heh, we’ll see about that,” Raven smirked.

Then, the two large wolves lunged at each other, fangs glistening under the moonlight, eyes filled with primal anger.

The sound...

The sound was unlike anything Ethan had heard before. The snarls through bared teeth, the deep guttural growls of dominance from deep within the throat; this truly sounded like the battle to the death.

The battle was fierce, both Chance and Raven proving to be exceptional fighters as they bit and tear at their opponent’s fur. Despite both wolf being dark in colour, Ethan could easily see the glistering of blood matting their fur.

And with Chance, Ethan could practically feel his pain, feel his desperation – could feel him in general. Chance was fighting this battle with all he had, just for him, just to protect him.

Oh, Chance...

Ethan could only watch completely helpless as Raven aimed to sink his fangs into Chance’s throat, but Chance anticipated his move and managed to shift himself just enough so he missed his vulnerable neck. However, he wasn’t able to move out of harm’s way entirely; Raven still managed to lock his powerful jaws around the upper part of his left leg.

A howl of half-pain, half-anger erupted from Chance’s throat.

“Chance!” Ethan called, wanting so desperately to race to his mate’s side. But then the Shaded Wolf blocked his path, positioning himself in front of him, with his head low and his front leg spread in a semi-crouching position.

“Stay back!” Ross barked at him.

“Don’t interfere,” Myles said with equal importance from where he was sitting a few feet away, looking lethargic and holding his front paw off the ground.

“He’s going to be killed!” Ethan desperately retorted as he spun around to face Myles, making no attempt to hide the fear he held for his mate.

“You’ll only get in the way,” Myles said to him, sounding surprisingly regretful and understanding, his ears folding back to show his remorse and sincerity. “This is a battle between two Alpha males; a Submissive like you would only get in the way.”

As another harsh growl sounded, Ethan knew Myles spoke the truth. There was no way he could possibly stand a chance in such a battle and if he got too close, Raven may take the opportunity to use him against Chance. After viscously murdering his sister, using him as a hostage didn’t seem to far above something like what Raven would do.

But he still didn’t like being separated from his mate at all. “But, Chance...”

“He’ll battle much more fiercer if he knows you are safe,” Ross explained as he pushed himself up from his crouching position, satisfied that Ethan wasn’t going to do something suicidal as getting in between two Alpha wolves in battle.

Only a fool would throw themselves into that skirmish and expect for it to be successful.

“Give him the space he needs,” Myles said gently as Ross trotted back to his side, allowing the slightly larger wolf to nuzzle against his side.

Ethan could say nothing in response to that and simply allowed his ears to fold back, his head dropping submissively. He tried to look at anything else but the battle raging before him, he could feel Chance’s pain, and he had no desire to see it as well.

“Look, I know what you’re going through,” Myles continued to speak in a sympathetic tone, subconsciously sinking further against Ross’s side, he too looking at anything but the battle. “It’s better this way.”

Again, Ethan felt as if there was nothing he could say, nothing to do. So, he simply nodded his head. He then turned his attention back to the two wolves who were, at first, somewhat threatening to him, but now seemed to be greatly understanding of the situation. They made no further attempt to attack him, made no attempt to force him back to their pack as their Alpha battled. It was as though they didn’t want to be here, that they didn’t want to do the things they had done.

As Ethan looked at them, he felt a sense of familiarity with them, the way they leaned against each other, Myles willingly allowing Ross to shield him from the sight of the battle still raging.

“You...” Ethan began as he slowly edge his way closer to the two wolves, feeling a sense of kinship with them now. “You two are mates, aren’t you?”

Ross and Myles shared a quick look, seemingly surprised that he made such an observation. But then, Myles sighed and nestled his head under Ross’s, allowing him to press closer against him.

“Yes,” Ross answered. “Raven is our Alpha, we must obey him.”

“Out of fear,” Myles added wearily. “As he is far stronger and fearsome than us.”

“But Chance is the great Night Wolf, isn’t he?” Ethan said, hope rising in his chest. “He’s strong, too.”

“Yeah, he might just win,” Ross replied, lifting his head up to risk a glance toward the battle, only to wince a moment later.

“If he does, he’ll be our new Alpha,” Myles commented, sounding hopeful. “Our pack will be under his command. And you, you will be second in command.”

Ethan reeled his head back in shock. “Me?”

Myles gave him a gentle, yet somewhat amused look. “You are his mate, are you not?”

“Yes, I am,” Ethan answered without hesitation.

“But, if he loses-” Ross started to say.

“He won’t,” Ethan cut him off sternly, his eyes narrowing in determination and faith. “He said he would always protect me, so there’s no way he’s going to lose.”

He had to win. He just had to.

Suddenly, there was a muffled snarl, followed by an equally stifled yelp of pain. With his eyes widening in fear, Ethan watched as a darkly coloured wolf was restrained by strong jaws around his throat before being flung harshly onto a mighty Oak tree with a sicking crack echoing upon impact.

And standing there, the victor of the fight, panting hard with blood dripping from his mouth was...