Father Alpha

The wind whistled enthusiastically in Jordane’s ears. Her legs strained to keep up with the escaped pregnant wolf who went straight for the woods.

“Sometimes I really find the young ones kind of idiotic,” she mumbled, catching her breath. 

Jordane surveyed their surroundings, wary not to cross the border again, whether accidentally or intentionally.

‘Although, crossing paths with that gorgeous Alpha wouldn’t be too bad,’ she thought, surprised by it. 

Ashamed and alarmed, Jordane banished the image of the handsome man from her thoughts.

“Focus!”

The other wolf had run faster than Jordane anticipated. She could feel her muscles staining at the effort.

Jordane looked up, disappointed that the moon wasn’t at its fullest. She would have loved to morph into her wolf. It would make the chase much easier.

But more than that, she wanted to know what the other wolf was thinking. Jordane could feel her distress even from a distance between them.

She tried to think of various reasons why the pregnant woman was scared of. There were too many to consider, but was that enough to have her running through the woods at night all of a sudden.

“Not to mention the possibility of crossing the border,” Jordane added, hating herself for immediately thinking about the gorgeous Alpha.

“Dammit,” she mumbled, grateful that her mother couldn’t hear her muttering curses left and right. 

“Awooooo!”

Jordane’s eyes widened. She felt the power of that howl, sending shivers to crawl all over her skin. 

“Hey!” Jordane called out, hoping she could calm the woman down before her father or her mother could get involved.

But her voice only frightened the latter, sending her to run at full speed.

“No!” Jordane exclaimed, the wind howling along with the Alpha’s warning. “Can’t you hear that?!”

Jordane felt her throat getting parched and her lungs overworking themselves. 

“Your best chance of not getting punished for causing all this ruckus is me!”

Her voice rang loud and clear, echoing with the whistle of the wind blowing in the opposite direction and the Alpha’s howls.

The mother wolf kept running until the next bend. She stumbled, disappearing from Jordane’s line of sight. 

“Oh, dammit!”

Out of breath and bathed in sweat, Jordane ran faster, finding the other wolf on the ground. She caught Jordane’s gaze, her eyes pleading while the metallic scent of blood hit her.

“I’m sorry,” Jordane dropped on all fours beside her. “I didn’t mean—”

The lady grabbed Jordane’s arm, gripping her so tightly she could feel her nails digging through her skin.

Jordane ignored the sting, focusing on the woman struggling to stabilize her breathing. 

“Help me,” she gasped. “My baby.”

“I really want to help you. But I have no idea how this works…” the latter trailed off, hearing the ear-piercing growl from her father.

“This isn’t good.”

Jordane took the time to assess their surroundings, her peripheral vision narrowing in certain areas. Relieved they hadn’t crossed the border, Jordane turned out the howls. Even though she had no idea what she was supposed to do, she was determined to help.

Pulling her shirt over her head, Jordane would use it to wrap the baby. She may not have helped her mother in the infirmary with the birthing process, but she had a general knowledge of how it should go.

“Alright. You know, I’m going to give it my best shot. But don’t expect too much and shift your focus on saving your child. Okay?”

The woman screamed.

“Please don’t give him to them!” she added, scaring the innocent animals within the area. 

“I’m not….” Jordane stared at the woman. “I don’t really know what the hell is going on. Why did you run away? Maybe you could make me understand, but first, you must push!”

The howls had stopped, alerting Jordane of her father arriving anytime soon.

“Never mind that. If you want to keep your baby, start pushing before the Alpha arrives.”

Obediently, the woman started pushing. The laborious cries echoed around the woods, awakening every sleeping creature.

Jordane watched the woman’s face contort in pain. She was crying, every vein in her body becoming visible as she used every ounce of her strength to get the baby out.

“I can’t do this!” the woman screamed after vigorously trying. Jordane could see a tiny head already poking out. But she considered the level of pain the mother must be in. 

“Well, I wish I could tell you to stop, but we don’t have time, and you said you don’t want anyone else to have him. So, keep that in mind and push really hard. Your child’s life depended on this. Okay?”

The woman nodded.

“On the count of three, scream all you want but push really hard. Do you hear me?” Jordane watched her shut her eyes close but nodded once more. “Ready? One.”

A rustle of leaves came from the opposite direction Jordane was facing, allowing shivers to crawl all over her skin. 

“Two,” she continued, ignoring the tingling sensation at the back of her head. She smiled encouragingly at the woman. “Three!”

A piercing scream broke out from the woman. It was followed by the babe finally coming out. Jordane carefully extracted the newborn. She wrapped him carefully using the shirt she took off, listening to its cries that replaced the mother.

Just as she handed the babe to the exhausted mother, the wind whistled loudly, followed by a harsh whoosh.

Having made up her mind, Jordane stood protecting the mother and child, prohibiting him from taking another step toward the woman.

“Firstly,” Jordane raised a hand, daring to glare at the Alpha. “Whatever mother has said, you need to hear me out. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for all this chaos.”

“Yes, it does, daughter,” the Alpha replied, his eyes glowing gold against the bright moonlight.

An unseen force made Jordane’s stand waver. She knew her father was using his abilities to get her out of the way. However, she made a promise, and Jordane did not break promises.

Closing her eyes for several seconds, Jordane calmed her thoughts and battled against her raging emotions. 

When she reopened her eyes, she saw her father’s aura burning bright yellow, enveloping him in so much power. 

“You may be the Alpha, father, but you aren’t always right.”

“You don’t understand, daughter. Move out of the way. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Make me understand then.”

There was a tense silence as the Alpha fought with Jordane in a staring-down contest. Whoever would look away first would surely be at the losing end.

“Fine,” the Alpha growled, his gaze shifting toward the woman and the newborn child. “That child is cursed. He doesn’t belong here.”

At that instance, Jordane understood what the woman was trying to do. She glanced her way, noticing fresh tears springing to her eyes.

Jordane knew the logical response was to let the Alpha handle the situation. However, she had never been in agreement with the establishment of the border.

“And what do you intend to do with the child? It won’t survive on its own, but you cannot cast away the mother and neither will she be accepted on the other side,” Jordane paused, a realization hitting her. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked at her father incredulously.

“You plan to kill it?”