Angry Wolf and His Deaf Mate

Second Chances - Part 1

"Wait!" I heard my brother, the alpha, shout as I raced out of the packhouse in anger. The woman I wanted as my mate, the woman I have loved for years, has chosen another mate from another pack.

Her excuse was, I am only the beta, he was a pack alpha. She had often suggested I should have taken my brother's place, but I'd not taken her seriously enough. I thought she was joking. After all, my brother is older, as tradition goes the firstborn is usually the next alpha. I am only a beta, I am fine with it.

I have never wanted to lead. We were both trained together just in case but I have always been happy to have him be the leader. He's more rational and patient than I am.

I raced off into the woods, shifting the moment I near the tree line. My anger bubbled over into my wolf and he roared in rage. He scented the air around him looking for something to fight or kill, anything to ease our anger.

We caught a scent, another wolf. This wolf isn't from the pack. A trespasser! My wolf growled.

We changed direction and increased our pace. The trespasser was laying down in a small clearing. The fool was sleeping on pack land. My wolf growled and he stirred slightly but didn't get up.

My anger spiked and I pounced. The wolf didn't have time to react before my claws scratched at his hind legs. It yelped and tried to run but I bit down hard on its tail.

I pulled it back, it quickly turned and bit me. Thankfully, its bite was nothing compared to mine since it was a lot smaller than I was. It was at least half my size. It snarled, growled and snapped at me trying to break free.

We were a blur of growls, claws and teeth. That is until my alpha's call stopped me cold.

"Enough!"

I panted as I snarled at him. He walked towards me calmly in his human form.

"Enough!" he ordered again with a softer voice this time.

The trespasser was out cold underneath me so I reluctantly stepped away. My wolf growled a little as I tried to calm us both down.

"Change back," he ordered me and I reluctantly complied.

Once back in my human form I felt some of my anger leave me a little. Now there was only pain. Not from the fight, but from my heart. She really left us!

My brother was bent down looking at the wolf I attacked. My nose flared and I caught its scent. I could smell blood as well as something else. Something I couldn't quite pinpoint. It was like the forest after a rainstorm and a hot summer's day all mixed together with something else. That was something else I couldn't place.

"Cole, are you calm now?" my brother asked.

"No, not yet, but I will be," I tell him.

"Good, then come and deal with the innocent wolf you've just attacked," he told me.

'Attacked? Innocent?' I thought.

"He's a trespasser," I growled.

"Cole, he's on his own and very weak. I doubt he posed a threat," he told me.

"Not a threat, you weren't the one he was biting," I told him indignantly.

"Come look," he ordered.

Reluctantly I approached the stranger. My brother was knelt down next to what I could only describe as a skeleton with skin. His short brown hair was matted with dirt and blood, his pale skin seemed paler against the various bruises and scars.

'Were those bruises from me?', I thought to myself, feeling a little guilty. The scars can't be from the fight, they look too old.

"We'll take him back to the packhouse, you carry him, Cole," he ordered before walking away.