"I'm sleepy," Amos yawned.
He tugged on my fur, asking if we could stop for a while. I nipped at him, and he pretended to get his hand stuck in my mouth. I barked, signaling my "we can't stop yet."
But I was weary, and it was getting late at night. Our options were sparse. I either had the choice of seeking refuge with humans, or risk treading onto another pack's territory. There was basically only one choice, because now we were rogues.
My wolf, Laila, spoke to me.
"We need to find shelter now."
I belonged to a pack a few hours ago though and now I did not belong to anything but my vow to take care of Amos and take revenge. Albeit my pack was the worst, I still had a sense of identity there. Maybe that's why it was hard for me to accept that we became rogues suddenly. I kept thinking if only we could find allies somewhere.
The only pack I knew the Thorn pack had an alliance with was so far away we wouldn't be able to reach them by the next day. And now that vampires had all but destroyed the pack, I didn't think they would want to welcome my brother and I into their territory in fears the vampires might follow.
My clothes were still in my brother's hands, who I told to keep holding as tightly as he could. We were in the forest, traveling north as much as I could gather. We left so quickly that I didn't consider where we would end up, just as long as the vampires did not find us. We rode undisturbed for the first hour so far.
And then I sensed a twig snapping behind me. Snarling, I whirled around. My brother grabbed my fur with one hand, holding on for dear life.
I came snout to snout with a massive dark gray wolf.
"Mate."
Both of our wolves connected instantaneously. We met each other halfway. His wolf nuzzled my neck, wanting to make his mark. The sparks flew between us and I wanted to drown in his closeness. But he must have smelled the blood and results of the bloodshed on our pack. He stepped back, his paws gripping the ground below.
Without warning, he shifted into his human form.
"Shift." He demanded in a hoarse alpha command, standing there naked as day.
Great, my mate was an alpha. A very magnificently endowed Alpha, but still. Attractive or not, what if he was just like my father? What if he threw me away when he found someone appealing more to him? I was scarred by the trauma and I did not want to show my weaknesses.
Amos slid off me. I turned around to get to him, but he already passed me my clothes. He went to stand before my mate.
"Whose pup is this?" My mate growled.
I knew it would make him furious if I said it was mine. So I shifted, my bones snapping back in place. I knew I was beautiful, according to people around me. But the way his gaze ravished me like I was the most delectable and wonderfully attractive woman made an electric current zing through my body.
"He's my brother." I said.
I could tell he was struggling to keep himself in check. With my younger brother there, it would be weird to do anything even if we were mates. But I felt it too.
The mate bond was pulling us closer to each other already. Closing his eyes in restraint he said, "let's put our clothes on then we can talk."
He strode over to a tree nearby and my eyes slid to his firm ass, excitement rising up in my body.
I did the same, changing into my simple shirt and shorts I grabbed when leaving, while Amos stood next to the tree with me, chasing butterflies with his gaze.
I held my brother's hand as we walked towards the alpha.
"What's your name, little one?" He asked my brother.
"I'm Amos! I am eight years old. E-I-G-H-T." My brother was so happy to meet a strong man like this alpha.
"And I am Archer. We both have an A in our names. And your sister, does she have an A?"
Oh, you definitely have an A, Archer. I thought back to his ass.
My mate was called Archer.
I watched the interaction first and then I spoke up, "No, unfortunately, she has a V."
Archer eyed me and he said with husky undertones, "Indeed, she has a V."
Tiring of the alphabet games I said, "I'm Violet Thorn, of the Thorn pack."
"Why were you out of your pack territory?" He asked.
I gripped my brother's hand when he started crying.
"Mama..." He cried.
I held my brother. Amos had been very brave and strong until now.
Some understanding and empathy dawned in his eyes, so Archer said, "we can talk more privately later. Come." He pointed ahead, and I squinted.
"You are in Alvarez pack territory. It would be faster to run but I will not allow my men to see you without clothes." He snarled at the thought.
He led us towards the clearing. He held onto my other hand, rubbing circles into my palm. I saw more clearly ahead, there were pack wolves stationed there.
They came up to us upon seeing me, growling viciously and probably about to rip my head off. Archer resolved the problem, glaring at them and shaking his head until they stopped moving.
"Stand down! She is your Luna, and this is her brother." Archer demanded, holding me by the waist.
They bowed in submission.
"Apologies, Alpha and Luna." they said.
The two warriors led the way to the area with pack houses, making sure to flank us from front and back.
Curious eyes landed on me and my brother as Archer led me into his home. He stood with the two warriors briefly, communicating through the mind link most likely as in the next second they bowed and walked away.
Archer had a guest room next to his room, and he said Amos could sleep there. He showed us a tour of his home. There was a spacious kitchen, living room, two bathrooms with impressive showers and baths. And multiple guest rooms too.
It was more of a mansion than a house.
"I need to take Amos for a bath and put him in bed," I told Archer.
At the mention of bathing, Archer's eyes darkened, gazing at me once more. His eyes flicked away to his phone when the screen lit up.
"I'll call my beta. He has a child around your brother's size and age. His mate will bring us some spare clothes. My beta's mate is around your size too. My helper will bring you towels." He communicated.
I thanked my mate and hurried with my brother to the bathroom.
After helping my brother, I tucked him in. His eyes closed, and I kissed his forehead as he dozed off.
I stepped outside of the room, and Archer stood before me. His eyes burned with desire, and my eyes reflected the same. I had been burning with need for him ever since our wolves connected.
With one great stride, he scooped me into his arms, carrying me to the bathroom and dropping his mouth over mine.