Meeting In The Middle

Gunshots

"I was born into a perfect family. I had a loving mother, a caring father and an older sister named Madeline. She was my idol and I wanted to be just like her. While she had beautiful maroon curls I had fizzy bright red hair, while she had a mate, I hadn't even shifted yet. When I saw her with him, it felt like she was in another planet. I wanted someone like that. Then Jake came along but that's not why our family broke apart. My father was out in the woods one day with his friends on a hiking trip and out of nowhere, a wolf attacks him and bites him on the wrist. Not hard but enough to puncture the skin. He was bitten by a werewolf. The venom seeped through and eventually after a full moon, he has shifted. He left my mother to fend for herself and this resulted in her suicide almost an year later. That left me and my sister on our own. My sister left me for her mate, where she is right now I'm not sure. I just hope that her mate is alive and protecting her. This pack accepted and took me in kindly when I had nobody else to turn to. This is my home." She looks into the distance where a forest stood. We were quiet for a moment.

"I'm sorry you had such a harsh childhood. I'm glad you made it this far and you're still going."

She smiles at me. "This place is my home now. It's very welcoming and you should feel that way too."

I nod and thank her for telling me all this. It seemed to pain her whenever she spoke about it and by the way she spilled her story out to me, it seemed like nobody was there to listen when she needed a friend. She lies down on the grass and stares at the sky peacefully. As we get caught up in our own thoughts, I suddenly hear a gunshot sound from the trees and I gasp. Fern sits up, her eyes wide.

"Hunters in this area?" She spoke quickly. "It's forbidden for them to hunt in this area, Alpha Damian's area." Everybody seemed alarmed by the sound and stopped what they were doing. I hear footsteps behind me and someone enveloping me in a hug. Ryder.

"Princess." He breathed in relief. "Glad to see you're okay."

I turned to face him. "I left the cabin after you left because —"
"I know you left the cabin. Even though I told you not to."

I cross my arms. "You didn't tell me not to. You just told me not to be with any guy alone."

He exhales loudly. "We need to make rules for you, princess. Don't leave unless I know where you'll be. Situations like this get me very worried, you understand?"
"Yes, sir." I reply, sharing a smirk with Fern.
"You're very unpredictable. You could be walking in those woods for all I know." Ryder shakes off a bad thought as it comes to his head.

I laugh a bit at his stern expression. "Calm down. Nothing happened to me."

"It could've." He mumbled under his breath. I heard that. I throw myself at him for a hug.

"Thank you, it was really kind of you to be looking out for me." I inhale his sweet scent that I have become familiar to.
"I don't know how I would live with myself if something happened to you." He sighs, wrapping his arms around me gently. "I love you."

The panic about the woods haven't stopped. There was another gunshot, a howl and then silence. It was clear to the pack that a member has died. I start chewing on my lip and Ryder placed me behind him.

"What's going on?" I ask him, my voice wavering slightly. He shushes and comforts me. "It'll be alright. Just stay in the camp with Fern."

I nod mutely and then it hits me. "My father."

I gasp and jerk Ryder's collar so he would look at me. "My father is a patrol for animal control. There were evidence of kills from a wolf so he might be in there. With the wolves." I speak as fast as I could, Ryder straining to comprehend. I was gripping onto his shirt so tight that when I let go, the marks of my nails were still there. He frowns when he finally gets it.

"So you're telling me that your dad is shooting at us?" He repeats, confused. He kisses me lightly on the cheek and dashes into the wooden cabin to find his weapons. I watch him gear up and he runs into the woods with so much speed he was a blur. Seconds later, Damian ran in after him. I was alone with Fern again and she ushers me into her dorm. 188. She turns on the lights which flicker slightly at first then warmed up. Fern was a very organized person, her books were in a perfect order on her burgundy coloured book shelf. Her sofas were clean white and a dining table sat in the middle of the kitchen. Her spices and salts were aligned by the stove and her fruits were in a beautiful clear bowl. I could never be this neat.

"You could move in if you want." She offered me. "I get lonely here all by myself sometimes."

I give it some thought. "I am a very messy person.." I bit my lip. She probably needs someone to be as neat and organized as her. She beams. "Then I'll clean up for you. I've got plenty of time on my hands anyways, more than I need."

I sit on the edge of the sofa. "That doesn't seem right." She plops down beside me and claps her hands excitedly. "It's settled!"

I couldn't catch up with her positive attitude. If something like that happened to me, I would be devastated and refuse company. Fern made it seem so much more positive and I admire that about her. I was still worrying about my dad as I start pacing across her living room nervously, back and forth. She frowns as she sees my uptight self and she pulls me to the sofa and turns on the television, while grabbing a box of chocolate ice-cream from her fridge. I sigh and stare at the screen blankly.

Dad.

My father appeared on the television screen and I lean in, praying for is safety. He was holding up a gun and preparing to fire it at a tiny wolf pup when Ryder's wolf and Damian's wolf dashed into the scene, throwing themselves in front of the wolf pup. My heart was beating faster than I could catch up with it. I close my eyes as my dad was about to pull the trigger.

BAM.

A gunshot rang, I could hear it from outside. I didn't dare open my eyes. Ryder. Fern had dropped the spoons she was getting and they hit the ground. I cringe. Someone got hurt. Fern was motionless as she stared, pale skinned and wide eyed at the T.V. "We've got to go help him." She whimpered and quickly opens the front door, leaving the spoons on the ground. I get up, my fingers cold and numb.

"Who is him?" I ask, my heart beating fast.
"Alpha Damian." She says and urges me to hurry up. "Come on, Rosella. We need to hurry."

I feel my heart sink as I race towards the woods with Fern. She was at least fifty steps ahead of me already due to her amazing werewolf speed. As we reach the forest, pellets of rain started falling from the dark sky. Fern was always a couple steps ahead of me, and I struggled to catch up. She was very worried for her Alpha. I was too.

We finally reach a clearing where a wolf's body lay, almost lifeless on the leafy forest ground. It's massive body was sprawled about the dead leaves and it looked like he was about to leave the world. I kneel beside him, and his large black eyes looked up at me, glassy and marble. I sniffle and hold his head on my lap, flinching as I see dark red liquid spilling from his chest. He was breathing heavily and gasping for air. Fern rushes back to the camp for a first aid kit. A tear escapes my eyes as I take in this scene.

"Alpha, even though I didn't know you very well, I just want you to know that I completely respect the hard work you've put into structuring and leading such an amazing group of wolves." I sigh, stroking his head slowly, wiping off the beads of rain. "You have to keep fighting. We need you. Your mate needs you. She would want you to be alive right now, wouldn't she?"

I raise a hand to wipe the tears from my eyes.

"Please, please, keep fighting." I plead him. I couldn't think of anything else to say. I stroked his strong black fur with sorrow in my eyes. "You'll make it through this." I promise him.

The wolf that lay his head on my lap and closed his eyes but a strong, even, steady heartbeat was beating in his chest and I take a huge sigh of relief, thanking the heavens.