Chapter 6

Alessandro:

“Are you sure that you don’t want to go back to the pack, Alessandro?” Leonardo asked, shaking his head in question. I sighed and shook my head. The last thing that I wanted was to be dealing with Daniella right now.

“I have to be alone for a bit. Don’t worry, I will be back in the morning.” I said, and he nodded in understanding. He walked toward the car, and I watched as he drove away before I turned to the forest.

I roamed around for a few minutes as I looked at the rising moon. A small smile formed on my lips as I knew that I would be shifting. My eyes turned into a deep shade of golden, as my wolf made himself known, and it was seconds later before I howled. 

The wolves around started howling back, responding, letting me know that I wasn’t the only one here. The territory was mine, but I never did mind sharing it with others as long as we agreed to keep a certain peace between us. 

I shifted, my black coat blending with the forest’s darkness. The trees were high where I was, and it gave me a chance to maneuver around without worrying about encountering a human. I ran, and a low growl echoed through the air as three other wolves ran with me. They weren’t from my pack, but they were asking permission to join me, one which I granted with the same manner. 

The four of us raced around for a few hours, but it wasn’t until midnight that the air around us shifted and our peace seemed to perish as bullets were fired. Neither one of them hit us, but we were well aware of their presence within the forest. 

The hunters.

I growled in warning, but instead of taking the warning, another bullet was shot. His eyes met mine through the darkness, and I growled at the three other wolves to run. They were new shifters, and I knew that they would not be able to fight off the hunters. I didn’t even know which packs they belonged to or why they chose to be this far from their families, but I knew better than to ask questions that did not concern me.

“It seems to me that we meet again, Alpha.” He said, glaring daggers at me. The feud between us was one that I didn’t even understand; however, I grew up knowing that the hunters were ruthless killers who knew no mercy. They didn’t look at them as children, women, or elderly. As long as they carried wolf blood, they were to die on sight, and that was something that I knew to be concerned about.

A low growl of warning rumbled from my chest, echoing the cold night, and catching sight of Vadim, my eyes darkened. The man could have died at my hands, but I chose to be merciful. It seems to me that this family was going to be the end of themselves indeed.

“Remember me, Alpha?” He asked. He didn’t wait for me to react as both he and his father shot their bullets. “I am going to be sure that you fucking regret letting me leave your club the other day.”

His father looked at him for a second, clearly surprised by what his son said, before shaking his head, snapping himself out of whatever he was thinking as he turned to face us. His heart raced, and I could tell by the sweat that dripped from his forehead that he was both concerned and worried. This was the first time that I have seen him with his son to begin with, and I could tell that it was the reason for his state right now.

The three wolves lunged at Vadim while I took his father. His daughter popped in my head, and a heavy feeling settled in my chest, forcing my wolf to stumble back. The man wasted no time in my flinch as a knife was stabbed in my shoulder. 

I growled in response before grabbing him by his side, biting him. His eyes widened, and he tried pushing me away only for a bullet to hit my chest before I could retreat. It was his son’s bullet that forced me down, and I couldn’t help the whimper that escaped me as I saw the three wolves laying in their blood. 

Run… 

Was the only instinct that I had as I saw Vadim rushing toward his father. I couldn’t care less where things led me, but I knew that I had to get as far away from here as I could.

My wolf’s feet moved on their own as an instinct of survival kicked in, and it wasn’t until I reached a door, one where her scent filled my nostrils, that I lost the ability to move any further as I stumbled on it with a loud thump. 

My blood left a trail behind me, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before they found me. But I didn’t know how much time I had nor did I know whether or not I would even be able to reach my pack to begin with.

Daniella’s face appeared in front of mea as my eyes grew heavy. My chest rose and fell with each deep breath that I took, and I couldn’t help but find myself resenting my girlfriend even more than I did as a strong scent, hers, filled my nostrils.

My heart raced at the loss of blood as my wolf fought to stay strong, and it wasn’t until she opened the door that my body gave out on me, forcing me to shift back.

Her next words sounded like both music and poison to my ears as my chest burned with so many feelings that I couldn’t understand. 

“Alessandro?”