Ch. 7
He ran through the underbrush alongside his brothers. He could feel the earth shift under his paws and smell the fresh air and wet grass as it brushed against his fur. But he couldn't enjoy it. The pain in his chest from leaving her had not yet subsided and he doubted it ever would. Her eyes haunted him. The look of pain and fear as they sparkled with repressed tears was a hot knife tearing into his soul. The way she turned away because she couldn't watch him leave was burned into his memory. Her words, soft and sad, lingered in his mind.
"You're leaving. Aren't you?" The other men were resting in the barn. The harvest was completed in record time with the four of them making quick work of her tiny fields. He hadn't needed to tell her what that meant.
"I have to."
"I see." She wouldn't meet his gaze. He could feel her pain and disappointment as though it were his own.
"My alpha is dying. I have to take his place."
"And you knew." It was a statement as much as a question. "You knew you would have to leave anyway and you-" She stopped and turned away from him. She was scared. Scared that he wouldn't return. That he would leave her and never come back.
"I will return." Doubt. He could feel it. It hurt. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. "As soon as business is settled, I will come back for you." She turned to face him, her eyes searching his.
"And then what? Do I go with you? Will the pack relocate here?" She wasn't angry; she was frustrated. He could feel her confusion and concern. He decided to be honest.
"I don't know." She became very quiet for a moment, pushed away from him gently and walked a few steps away, wrapping her arms around herself.
"How long do you think you will be away?"
"I don't know. Pack politics are more complex than they should be."
"Is that so?" He didn't want to leave. She belonged with him but he couldn't just ask her to pack up everything on such short notice and go. However, with him gone, the likelihood of Richard trying something was undeniable.
"I will send for someone to stay with you and keep you safe until I return. In the meantime, we will go to town and make sure that you have everything you need before we leave." She said nothing. He walked up behind her again and gently turned her to face him before pulling her close. "You are my mate. You belong to me as I belong to you." He pulled her closer. "And I will not be able to stay away for long."
"Heero…" he leaned in and down and claimed her lips with his. It was a soft kiss at first that turned desperate. Her hands gripped his shirt as she deepened the kiss. His hands found her blouse and tore it over her head. Her skirt pooled on the floor. His trousers dropped to join it. He carried her to the bed where they made love one final time…
A branch smacked him in the face and he realized he needed to pay closer attention but his mind kept returning to her…
"Heero. Focus." Wufei's growl reached him through the haze.
Heero shook himself. Literally. He missed her. That wasn't going to change, but he had to be in his right mind when they returned. Lesser alphas would sense his weakness and try to exploit it. But still, the final image of her from that night, lying beside him, naked skin soft in the firelight. Her aqua eyes begging him for something they both knew was impossible.
"I know why you have to go, and I accept it." She stared deeply into his eyes. "Just promise me that you will come back to me."
"I will." He caressed her cheek. "Believe in me, Relena."
"Yuy." Wufei's reprimand hit him again. Heero knew his friend was right. He needed to focus on the mission ahead. Odin would not be happy that Heero stayed away so long and he'd be even less so to know of Heero's new mate. He needed to be ready for the old Alpha's response. But it was getting late. And even werewolves had their limit to how far they could travel without rest.
"We'll stop here for the night." Heero looked at each of his wolves. "Duo will take first watch."
"Why me?" Heero did not answer, but rather glared at the Omega. Duo lowered his head and put his tail between his legs. "Never mind. I'll get to it." Each wolf took a strategic position facing out from their spot on the first floor. Heero lay down and closed his eyes but he feared sleep would not come. It would be hard to find peace when his mind and heart were elsewhere on the farm with his mate.
The stormy weather delayed them by a few hours but after three long days they finally reached the home of the pack. But it wasn't his home. Not anymore. Not without her. Immediately, Hilde and Sally ran out to get them, bumping heads with their mates and yapping happily. It didn't take long before the other wolves emerged from their homes. Some wolves that were initially human preferred to remain in their human forms until it was hunting time. They had houses instead of dens and were usually the wolves that traveled to town to trade with the humans.
Heero, personally preferred to be a wolf but he did possess a house, sparsely furnished and small in size. Relena's farmhouse was about the same size but far better suited for a family. Family. What if they had pups? He knew it would be part of life but he never thought that it would be possible. Until Relena, Heero never considered choosing a mate let alone starting a family. Pack Alpha's were chosen by the retiring leader or by trial of combat so reproducing was never a necessity. Now that he had a mate, such a thing seemed like a possibility and not an unwelcome one.
"Welcome back!" Sally nodded to him. "We were beginning to think you intended to stay away forever."
"We found him on a farm like a domesticated pup." Wufei's comment raised Heero's hackles.
"What Wufei meant to say," Duo interjected, "is that we found him safe and sound. He'd been badly hurt and found a place to hide out until he healed."
"Well, Odin has been in a foul mood since you disappeared. Maybe now he'll lighten up." Hilde licked her paw and nuzzled Duo. "Meanwhile, I'm stealing Duo." Duo gave the closest thing to a grin that a wolf could give.
"I need you and Sally to do something first." Heero used his nature to hold their attention. "Back on the farm there is a woman named Relena. You are to watch over and protect her with your lives."
"Protect a human?"
"She took care of me. We owe her."
"But, I still don't understand." Hilde cocked her head to the side.
"The human is his mate." Wufei interjected. Heero growled.
"Speak of that again and I will kill you." Heero snapped his jaws at Wufei and growled low. "You will keep this a secret. All of you. Protect Relena until I return for her." The two women stared at him in disbelief. Sally looked at Hilde, Hilde looked at Duo. After a moment, they bowed their heads.
"We understand."
"Good. Duo, you will lead them to her and then return and report back."
"Sure thing, buddy."
"Go. Now. Three days alone is too long."
"What do you mean?" Hilde asked. "Is she in danger?"
"Duo can explain on the way. Go."
"Yes, Heero." The three wolves ran off in the direction from where they came. Heero huffed and turned his attention to the main cave at the end if the road. It was the largest of the caves and it connected to many of the others through caverns and passages. This enabled Odin with the ability to keep better track of the wolves. Heero knew each cavern by heart and had patrolled them many times. Odin made sure Heero knew everything there was to know about the pack and its territory to help ensure that Heero would be an efficient leader.
"Someday soon you'll need this information and experience to take over when I'm gone."
"Yes, sir."
"As the next Alpha, I'm counting on you to take care of this pack. Nothing and no one outside it matters." Odin glared. "Nothing."
As Heero crested the hill to the cave, a large wolf stood waiting. Once golden fur now dulled with age. Mange developed at his joints his fur was matted but still held a healthy sheen. The fur around his eyes and snout were white with age. The old alpha held his head proudly.
"Heero." The old wolf greeted him. Heero bowed his head.
"I've returned."
"Where have you been?"
"I was injured while leading a band of angry humans away from the pack. I took time to heal."
"Even near-death injuries would not take this long to heal. What are you hiding?" Heero kept his eyes lowered and stood his ground. "You would make me compel the truth from you?" Heero chuffed and looked down to the side. It wouldn't do any good to hide the truth. And once Heero became the Alpha he could protect Relena better.
"I met my mate." His Alpha eyed him suspiciously.
"You found your mate? That far away? I wasn't aware of a pack in that area. Was she a rogue?"
"She is my mate. Nothing else matters."
"There is something you're not telling me." Odin growled low. "WHO IS SHE?" Heero winced as he felt the influence of his Alpha hit him. Even he could not resist the call.
"She is the human who took care of me."
"A Human?!" Odin growled and got up in Heero's face. "Are you out of your mind? Do you not realize the problems this will cause?"
"Relena knows what I am. She accepted me. She will not be a problem."
"She will be a vulnerability we cannot afford. Human women are weak. Defenseless against the other wolves who would use them to hurt us. Did you learn nothing from the death of your mother?!"
The howling pierced the night air as his mother tucked him under the bed. He heard the growling and snarling and then the scream. His mother's scream. She fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Tearing of clothes and flesh. Heero felt his stomach gave as his young heart pounded with terror.
Another wolf entered. A fight broke out. Then the fight stopped. A man reached under the bed and pulled the young boy out.
"Your mother died protecting you. A noble death. Now you come with me." He hefted young Heero over his shoulder.
"Who are you?" Heero couldn't see the man wouldn't let him.
"I'm going to be your Alpha boy. But for now, I'm your father, and you're coming with me."
"Have you sealed your bond with her?" Odin's demand rang in his ears.
"Yes." Odin snapped his teeth inches from Heero's throat.
"You will break your bond with her. You will turn away from her and never look back."
"No."
"What?" Heero steeled his nerve. Relena was his mate. He wouldn't lose her. No matter what. Not even for his Alpha. Pulling every ounce of his dominance he could, he puffed up his chest, raised his eyes to meet Odin's to growl low.
"Relena is my mate. I will not change that."
"Are you challenging me."
"If I have to." Odin puffed up as much as he could and squared off, lowering himself into an attack position. Heero knew there was no point in trying to avoid it.
And then Odin pounced.
He struck Heero hard in the lower part of his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Odin was bigger but much older and slower. Heero leapt back and then lunged forward, sinking his teeth into Odin's back leg above the joint. Odin let out a painful yowl and jumped back, then surged forward again, lashing out with his claws at Heero's face. Heero barely avoided it, dipping low under the swipe to counter with a bite to Odin's front leg. With another howl of pain, Odin fell, Breathing heavy. Heero stopped and looked down at him.
"I hereby claim my place as Alpha." Heero growled. "Relena IS my mate! And from this moment on, she is under pack protection." Odin glared up at him.
"You win. I yield my position, but this isn't over!" And Odin found his way to his feet before limping off into the woods. Heero had a feeling that Odin's threat held more than it seemed but he didn't have time to over think it. He felt the eyes of the rest of the pack staring at him. Heero rose up to his full height and raised his snout before letting out a powerful howl. The rest of the pack joined him in recognition of the regime change.
Heero's mind went back to Relena. This isn't how he'd planned taking the position, but now he had a way to ensure that she would be safe. As soon as all of the pack business was settled he could return to her and figure out where to go from there.
'I'll see you soon…Relena…'
