The Alpha Female

THIRTY: IN THE END

CHAPTER THIRTY: IN THE END

            A fire crackled, men were talking amongst themselves in hushed voices, I stiffened.  Where was I?  I didn’t dare open my eyes, my entire being was overtired and strained, I didn’t think I could have even if I wanted to.  The rise on which I was resting my head moved.  A hand fell onto my head, running gently through my damp and tangled fur.  Mason.

            I nudged his hand softly, not raising my head.  The voices hushed.  Mason coughed and his entire body shook.  I tried to keep down a smile as I whined to him softly, which resulted in another stroke on the head. 

            “It’s awake,” a man spoke.  I recognized that voice, Curly.  His remark was followed by a quick exhale of air as if he had been slapped or elbowed in the side.  “She’s awake,” he corrected himself.  I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a response.

            “Must be dog tired, huh?” Curly tried at a joke, but was quickly silenced. 

            Boots crunched through the snow as the person came closer to us.  Mason stiffened, as did I.  My fur bristled.

            “I’m not going to hurt you,” Lucas cooed softly as he kneeled down in front of us.  I wrenched my eyes open, watching him warily, Mason’s hand stopped atop my head, gripping my fur.  “I-I want to thank you,” He continued, watching me carefully, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips.  I shrank back against Mason a little more, relaxing slightly.

            “What you did for my boy,” he continued, glancing up at Mason, “I ha-words can’t express.  Thank you.” I just watched him, not bothering to respond, it wasn’t like he would understand me anyways.  I looked up at Mason to gauge his reaction, but then a thought occurred to me, he was wearing his father’s jacket, not his sweatshirt.

            “About the sweatshirt.” Lucas continued.  “It kind of washed down under when we were trying to pull you two out.  Sorry about that.” He answered my question like a halfhearted mind reader.

            “Does she have to go home?” Mason asked, his voice quiet.  Lucas glanced between Mason and I before responding with a simple shrug.

            “That’s for her to decide.  We’ll head out in the morning, you two get some rest.”  Lucas reached out as if he was going to pet me before stopping himself.  I watched his hand, which ghosted above my head with a mild curiosity and arched my neck, leaning up into it.  A new smile came to Lucas’ face, this one I couldn’t place a name on.  “I’ll go get some fire wood,” he voiced before rising to his feet and grabbing Curly by the shoulder, leading him away and leaving us alone.  Sauri was nowhere in sight.

            Mason sighed the moment they were gone, resting his head back against the large tree that he had his back too.

            “I hope you don’t mind this,” Mason breathed as he continued to pet my head.  His eyes were closed.  I simply nuzzled his stomach in response, gaining a course laugh.  I missed that sound.  Mason was overcome with a coughin fit in the middle of it, causing me to rise to my feet and watch him. 

            I leaned forward, pressing my muzzle into the crook of his neck as he hugged me to him. 

            “Strange world we live in,” he added.  “But do you know what would make it easier?” I retreated, watching him carefully.  If I could get an actual response. 

            I sat down in the snow, observing his facial expressions before quickly looking around me, debating if it was worth a change.  We were camped out a little ways off of the bank of the river, upstream of the ice flow, about level with the rock platform on the other side.  As far as I could see there was no one prying in on the conversation or watching us. 

            Mason took the jacket off of his shoulders and laid it over my back, coaxing me.  It wasn’t like I was any warmer in my wolf form right now anyways.  My fur was soaked and keeping my chilled.  I looked down at the snow and shifted slowly.  For the first time it actually hurt to change back, I blamed the cold and tired muscles for that. 

            I grabbed a hold of the jacket before it could slide down my shoulders and held it shut, meeting Mason’s eyes to gauge his reaction.  He opened up his arms and I crawled up to him gratefully, snuggling into his side. 

            Neither of us talked, there was nothing really to say anymore, just a blessed silence.  It was the first real time that we had had in a long while, and I soon drifted off in the warmth of Mason’s embrace.

            Darach trotted up the rock outcrop, stopping at the very edge to watch his daughter on the other side.  She had tricked him, and he knew it.  He knew it the moment that he let her go that she was running to save the human.  Taima was a friend, but this human was more than a friend.  She was exposed to him.  In her human form with the other humans.  She was too comfortable around them. 

            Taima limped up the rock to stand beside him, his head lowered as he breathed deeply.  The wolf had fought well, a lot better than Darach would have ever been able to give him credit for.  Taima looked up at him with large brown eyes, as if asking what would become of him after his betrayal, what would happen to Suka and the pack.  Darach ignored the thought, looking in on his daughter and the human on the opposing bank. 

            Taima seemed to catch the hint and he started back down the rock.  A thought came to Darach.  The older wolf turned around, calling out to Taima with a low grunt.  Taima stopped and began to slowly hobble around to face the way he had come.  Darach met him halfway, and when he did he bowed his head slightly, lower than Taima’s, and licked his nose.

            The younger wolf perked up instantly.  His head rose as his ears stood on end, his feet splayed and his form was strong, except for the limp leg that he held by his side.  Darach looked up at him expectantly, awaiting a response.  For an Alpha to submit dominance to a wolf was unheard of. 

            Taima seemed to catch on and quickly licked his nose.  Darach straightened himself before his new beta and snorted, signaling Taima to leave.  The young wolf was quick to respond and limped away, leaving the alpha in solitude.

            Darach turned back to the river, sighing loudly as he watched his daughter snuggle up to the human in her slumber.  He wasn’t disgusted.  The thought didn’t really occur to him, merely curious.  What if what she had said was true?  What if humans weren’t so bad?  There was no way that she would return home after what he had done to her, to her and to her human, and he knew that he deserved the solitude that would come with her loss. 

            Movement further down the bank caught his eye and Darach’s attention as he turned his head to watch.  There stood Sauri, frail and puffing, his chest sticking out as he stood tall on the opposing bank.  He was the one who had led the humans to the den, jeopardizing the pack’s safety…saving his daughter’s life.  Their eyes met and Darach gave him a short nod. 

            The aging alpha turned tail and started back towards the den, back towards his own way of life, leaving his daughter to live out hers.