CHAPTER 03

We got to the community center and there were a few cars scattered outside, but what stood out most to me was an ambulance. Why was it here? Was the fight that bad?

Allen rushed to the entrance and we followed behind. There were a few other townspeople around and more cars kept arriving at the scene. The fall of an alpha was no simple thing. I could feel my loyalties shifting. It made me feel exposed in a way, like I had no protector. This was really happening.

Allen ran towards the door and the rest of us followed, but just as we drew closer, we saw Alpha Alexander being rolled out on a gurney.

“Dad?!” Allen cried, rushing to his father’s side.

“I’m okay, kid,” Alex reassured him as the gurney was stopped.

“Who did this? What happened?” Allen asked.

“Just a few bruises and a busted arm, but I’ll be okay,” Alexander replied his son.

“Who did this, Alex?” I asked myself.

“Sir, we need to get you to the hospital now,” one of the paramedics spoke.

“I’ll go with you,” said Allen then he followed the gurney.

“We’ll follow in my car,” I told the others and we rushed back towards the car.

Nearly half the town was at the Community Center now. There were so many cars and so many people rushing in, or following Alex. I felt a deep desire to know this new alpha, but my loyalty to Alexander and his family was stronger. I could meet the new alpha some other time.

As I entered the car, I felt something, like the moon was talking to me somehow. It was the weirdest thing. I felt like getting into the car had disconnected me from a source. I opened the door and I could feel the moon’s pull again. I shut it and the emptiness came back. What was wrong?

“Miss Mona, they’re leaving,” Patty said from the backseat of my SUV.

Her voice brought me back to my surroundings. The moon’s pull was gone and it was just me again.

“I’m sorry,” I said, then started the car, shut the door and turned to follow the ambulance.

“It’s Mrs. Simons!” Joe yelled, pointing through the windscreen.

Sure enough, Allen’s mom, Cynthia, had just walked past my car and was trying to get to the community center when her husband had already been taken away. I honked my horn severally before she and a few others turned to see what the horn was for.

We signaled Mrs. Simon to come over and she rushed towards the car.

Joes got out of the passenger seat.

“Where is Allen?” she asked him.

“They took Alpha Alex to the hospital,” he told the woman. “Allen is in the ambulance with him.”

“Get in Mrs. Simons!” I yelled out the window and she quickly obeyed.

Joe got in the back with patty while Cynthia got in the passenger seat.

“Why’s my husband in an ambulance, Mona?” she asked me.

“He’s okay, Mrs. Simons.” Was all I told her.

****

Alexander Simons was in his hospital bed, his left arm was in a cast. His wife sat next to him, holding his good right arm tight. I stood with the kids next to the bed. A few others were in the room as well. I knew most of them, they were all members of the South Hartvale Pack.

“I received a call to come to the atrium and accept a challenge for my position and something inside told me I had to go,” Alexander was explaining what had went down.

“So this new guy called you and you just left the house to go accept his challenge?” Allen asked his father.

“I can’t explain it, son. I think this has gone beyond our decision because I knew I would lose the moment I heard his voice on the phone. My wolf wanted him dead because we knew he was our replacement; that’s why I kept going until he had to break my arm to stop me.”

“The same moon spirits who have abandoned us to be bullied by the North Hartvale Pack for years?!” Allen snapped. “The same ones who let our pack lose the war?”

“Watch your mouth, boy!” I warned him.

“The North Hartale Pack worship a moon war-god and we follow two spirits who have never done a thing to help our pack!” the boy retorted.

“Stop this blasphemy at once!” Mrs. Simons warned her son.

Allen stormed out of the room. Patty went after him.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Simons,” Joe apologize on his friend’s behalf then went after them.

“The kids are just scared and angry, Alex,” I told the man. “Allen worries a lot about this pack and kids these days don’t understand the spiritual like we do.

“Where was Marcus when all this happened?” Mrs. Simons asked me. “He’s the enforcer so why the hell wasn’t he at his alpha’s side?”

“Marcus went on a delivery upstate and won’t be back until after the weekend,” I explained.

“Don’t blame anyone for anything, Cynthia,” Alex told his wife. “I didn’t call Marcus, Sonia or anyone else because I knew this was meant to be.”

“So you’re just going to accept this new alpha?” one of the people in the room asked.

“He won me fair and square,” Alex replied simply. “Them’s the rules.”

Yeah those were the rules, but even I couldn’t understand why Alex was so chill about this? It was said that leaders of packs like ours that served under the moon spirits, were particularly spiritual, but to just accept a random challenge over the phone? Was Alex thinking straight? The alpha spirit had departed from his wolf, I could not sense him anymore. The bond was severed.

Nicholas Murphy walked into the room now. He was our pack’s Omega and I could still feel that connection at least. He was Joe Murphy’s dad, same black hair as his kid.

“Alex, what is going on?” Nicholas asked. “The alpha is gone from you. I don’t sense him.”

“Relax, Nick, All’s well,” Alex told him.

“I don’t know if that man broke your arm alone, or if he messed up your head too,” his wife condemned him.

My phone rang and when I took it out, I saw it was Marcus. I answered it.

“Hello baby.”

#Babe, my phone’s been blowing up with calls saying Alex was defeated by some random guy.#

I stepped out of the room and walked to a quiet corner of the hallway.

“I’m at the hospital now…”

#Wait, this new guy put Alex in the hospital?!# Marcus was surprised.

“Alex says it’s meant to go the way it did; that the moon spirits want the new guy.”

#Have you seen the new Alpha? Is it someone we know?#

“I haven’t met him yet. I was with Allen when we got the news so we had to rush to the Community Center, from where we followed Alex here to the hospital.”

#Speaking of Allen, how’s the kid taking this?#

“He’s mad and speaking against the moon spirits.”

#I wouldn’t have expected anything less. Maybe I should come back. The pack might need their enforcer during this transition.#

“Nah. You just complete your run and be back by Monday.

#It’ll be three days without me. You sure the pack can manage my absence that long after this?#

“If they need you back then you can come back, babe.”

#This is crazy cos Alex is crazy strong and he was a good alpha. This new dude must really be something.#

“Alex gave him a good fight though. Took a broken arm to finally stop him.”

#That’s our Alex alright.# Marcus was laughing now.

I saw Mrs. Simons come out of the room. She looked around until our eyes met. “Come take me home, Mona! I need to get Alex his pills!”

“Cynthia needs me, babe,” I told Marcus, while walking towards the woman.

#I’ve been trying to call Alex, but his phone keeps going to voicemail.#

“Okay, I’ll give him my phone so you two can talk then I’ll take Cynthia where she wants to go.”

I signaled Cynthia to give me a minute while I rushed back into the hospital room.

****

It was 4am when I turned the key in my front door. I was beat. The stress of the night had been much and the craziness with it. I shut the door and walked past the living room, straight to the kitchen, got a juice box out of the fridge and gulped it down once.

I squeezed the empty box, aimed at the trash basket and threw it.

“She shoots!” I cried.

The squished up box sailed through the air, arched, came down, but hit the rim of the basket and bounced off.

“And she misses like always,” said a deep male voice from the kitchen entrance.

The sound of that voice almost made me jump out of my skin. I looked at the speaker and he was quite the sight, six feet tall, a puffed up chest that tugged to be free from his shirt with the rolled up sleeves, grey eyes, graying black hair even though he looked too young to be gray. I knew him all too well, the way he leaned against my wall like he owned the place, the devilish smile, that face, the tingling in my heart; he was older, but it was him.

“Dom.” My voice almost didn’t get out at all. It was like staring at a ghost.

“Hello, Mona,” he spoke, his deep voice was just as I’d remembered.

“How did you get in?” I asked, still in shock.

“The old tree next to your window. You taught me how to get in through that window upstairs, remember?” he asked back.

I remembered alright. I’d taught him all that back when I used to sneak him into the house to get naughty. Wait! Why was I thinking all this?

“It’s been eight years, you crazy man.” I wanted to be mad at him, but I felt the tears coming instead. “I waited so long. Spirits, I waited for you.” My voice was breaking up and the tears were flowing.

I hated myself. Why was I weeping over a man who just upped and vanished from my life eight years ago.

“Please don’t cry, Moans,” he said and walked towards me.

As he neared me, I sensed first the mate connection, my heartbeat and his synched perfectly. He was my mate, we had felt it years ago when we first fell madly in love with each other before he disappeared, the second thing I sensed was in the back of my brain, not my heart; it was loyalty, submission and his utter dominance.

I stepped away from him and that made him stop in his tracks.

“YOU’RE THE NEW ALPHA?!”

I hadn’t meant to scream the question.